‍As human beings, we are so easily pulled between one extreme or another, and we are so quick to make value-statements by which we exalt ourselves and judge others. (I’m just as much at fault here as anyone else. It’s easy to do.) In my personal experience, most women need to be told to go slow and be soft. We’ve spent much of the younger parts of our lives being frantic and hard. We’ve destroyed our adrenal glands, our nervous systems, and our menstrual cycles so we can go all the time and prove that we can do it all (just like a man). Slow and soft living is the only way to heal our minds and bodies and the only way to break the addiction to chronic stress and franticness.

I’m beyond blessed. I’m so blessed I can barely handle the weight of so much good in my life. Every single thing I feel anxious about is actually God dealing so unbelievably bountifully with me. Each frantic whisper of “I’m late, I’m late, I’m late,” each tinge of “I’ll never get this all done” is a moment to step back and look at the blessing. Blessings always come packaged with responsibilities—families, friends, churches, communities, marriages, homes, cars, food, clothing, education, citizenship, hobbies, health, creativity, imagination. Nothing is ever given to us without a responsibility attached to it. But we can’t lose sight of the blessing because of the weight of the work.

Every time a limitation arises, an opportunity for growth opens.

Our homes are chronically frantic because we are attempting to rid ourselves of false guilt.

Another big part of leaving room in our lives is getting better at what we do, learning new things, and preparing for coming trouble

There are times in life when those of us who have chosen to keep life simple have that simple life turned upside down, when we don’t feel like we’re living a quiet life, working with our own hands, minding our own business, when those of us with a simple life wake up and find ourselves in the middle of an active life we didn’t sign up for.