The Gift of the Ordinary

After finishing up a collection of landscapes for a commission project, I expected to dive right into the next thing. Instead, the Lord gave me a slower season—one filled with ordinary days, family, and the reminder that not every season is meant to be spent producing.

We started the summer with family vacations and then a trip to Minneapolis for Kit's yearly checkups. We are so thankful that her reports were as good as they could be. Every good report is such a gift from the Lord. Even so, those trips are never easy. It's hard to hear about the things going on inside her little body that aren't affecting her much now but likely will as she gets older.

As difficult as those appointments are, they always leave me with the same reminder: every day is a gift.

The rest of our summer has been wonderfully uneventful. We've spent lots of days at home without much on the schedule. There hasn't been a lot of painting happening in the studio, but there has been a lot of time spent with my girls and Zach. Slow mornings, swimming in our little stock tank pool, lots of popsicles, and all the ordinary moments that are so easy to overlook.

This summer reminded me again what a blessing it is that I get to stay home with my girls each day. I'm thankful for each day The Lord has blessed us with.

As much as I love creating and sharing new work, this slower season has been such a blessing. I find myself praying that the Lord would allow us to carry that same slower pace into the school year. There will always be paintings to finish and things to accomplish, but this summer reminded me that these ordinary days are a precious gift from Him.

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom."

Psalm 90:12

"The Gift of the Ordinary" 10x10 inches

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