on psl's, ugg boots, and leggings

As October is coming to a close, I have spent a good part of my last week reflecting on how I utilized my time this past month. What have I done in October to make my story better? To make God's story better? Did my actions and time with my husband, family, friends, job, etc. make a ripple effect of good and did it display God's love, patience, and grace?

I joked a few weeks ago with a close friend that all October meant to people derived from three simple things: pumpkin spiced lattes, Uggs boots, and leggings. It is really the end of summer when females across America start Instagraming their new furry boots and their PSL’s in hand. And for those of us that do not like pumpkin spiced…anything and prefer our flip flops in the snow over those furry boots any day, we are more sadden by the chillier weather than the rest of the elated social media world. And we pin fall “to-do” lists from this website and that website in hopes to define the upcoming season, to make sure that the season does not pass by unmemorable. Fall fashion. Uggs boots. Leggings. Starbucks. PSL’s.

Sparkly UGG boots & leggings? love!

Several weeks ago, I was sipping my apple cider in the middle of a pumpkin patch after a Halloween-themed 5k with a friend and our husbands. She went on and on about her list of fall “must dos” as her husband rolled his eyes while he smiled from ear to ear. She was determined to fulfill fall for their first year of marriage and ensure that it was memorable. Carving pumpkins. Driving down the river road. Halloween festivities…. She wanted it to be something that they remembered for years to come, taking a hold of every moment. What she was missing was the moment in front of her. A pumpkin patch. A Halloween-themed 5k. Apple cider.

{wilderness}

I think sometimes I struggle with this as well. There is a level of expectation that is created when I fill up my calendar with this or that. If I do not get to carve pumpkins, drive down the river road while the leaves are at peak color, attend Halloween festivities…then was my month, my season, memorable? Would it be worth the replay in the highlights of my life? Did my season make God's story better?

The honesty of this is that when we fill up our schedules to ensure that we have a season that is "fulfilled", we sometimes do not allow room to hear, see, and feel God. Too much definition controls our time and does not allow room for the unexpected moment that means more to us than carving a pumpkin. Too many “must-dos” does not allow room for God’s plan.

"Only lovers see the fall a signal end to endings a gruffish gesture alerting those who will not be alarmed that we begin to stop in order simply to begin again" -Maya Angelou (Rikki Snyder Photography)

I have spent the last month reading through Lysa Terkeurst’s “The Best Yes”. In the book, there is a story about how she allowed her season to get so busy that she missed what God was asking her to do. She was more worried about cute holiday wrapping and Pinterest desserts to hear God asking her to help somebody else and do something that actually mattered. Her scheduled was too full.

As we head into the holiday months, I have to keep reminding myself of this. Booking our calendars with a list of "to-dos" so that our season is fulfilled may not allow God to fulfill our hearts with His purpose.