Once upon a time, there was a girl who didn’t realize how much stress she was carrying until it was gone. The release in letting go made her feel as if she had lost fifty pounds in a day, and her joy returned. All it took was a simple and quick visit to her happy place.
{This waterfall stands about six feet tall and sits only feet from the front door of my Happy Place}
Ok, who am I kidding, that girl is me. I’ve been floating through life for so long, going through the motions of working my full-time job, being a wife and a mom, taking care of our home, running errands, cooking meals, packing lunches, washing clothes, feeding dogs, and somewhere in there, fitting in time for my blog. We’ve stayed busy.
This past weekend, my husband and I went to our family’s little cabin in the North Georgia foothills to spend a day scrubbing and cleaning and sanitizing. We had such a wet summer that the old cabin was beginning to mildew and little critters were making their homes in the dresser drawers. We want to be able to enjoy it now that the weather is starting to cool and fall is upon us, not to mention it was just due for a heavy cleaning, so we decided to spend the day doing just that.
It’s amazing sometimes how places become so routine that we forget how incredibly soothing they are for the spirit. This little cabin in the woods is only about an hour and a half from our home – that’s the same amount of time I spend driving to work every single day, by the way, but my job is a lot less desirable than our cabin in the woods. My husband and I don’t take advantage of this gorgeous piece of property very often, but we should. And this past weekend, I was reminded of that.
It was pouring down rain by the time we arrived. At our cabin, there is no cell phone service, no cable, and if you want internet, you can use the really slow dial-up. {Remember those lovely sounds of our computers connecting to the world wide web? Yea, our kids will never know that sound.} On this particular Saturday, I did something I never, ever do – I left my cell phone at home. Now, the fact that the cabin has no cell service is a non-issue. For the majority of the drive to and from the cabin, I would have been on that phone, surfing through Pinterest, perusing Facebook, or reading blogs. Normally I would have freaked out when I realized my phone wasn’t on me, but on this particular Saturday, I didn’t care. That was a breakthrough for me, to be honest. And it was refreshing.
For about four hours, my mom, my husband and I scrubbed and vacuumed and de-mildewed and de-crittered that cabin. Me being allergic to everything chemical, I had to keep taking breaks to stand on the front porch and breath in the fresh air.
As I stood there, it hit me. I was in my happy place.
The rain pounded on the tin roof above me and danced in the ever-growing puddles at the base of the porch. The creek and waterfall were surging because of the hard rains, and I just stood there taking it all in.
No phones ringing or emails chirping notifications. No cars driving by. No TV blaring. Just peace and quiet. I felt exceptionally close to God at that moment, and I told Him so. I stood there a little longer than I really needed and just thanked the good Lord that He got me there to enjoy His creation. I thanked Him that I was there with my family, and we were enjoying one another’s company, rather than staring at our cell phone or computer screens. I was thankful for the dirt and mildew and critters that had begun to consume that little cabin, because it created a reason for me to get there sooner than I probably would have.
After almost hacking up a lung a few times, we finally finished cleaning the cabin and it looked fabulous. On the drive home, I told my husband we really need to come up there more often, and he agreed.
My phone was waiting for me when we returned, with a screen full of notifications. I cleared them, put the phone down, and stood in a steaming hot shower for about thirty minutes just feeling grateful. When the dirt and the mildew begins to creep up into my life, I know that my happy place is only a short drive up north, where I can completely unplug and just be with my God and His creation.
Where do you find peace?
