The crisp air and falling leaves outside my window remind me of how fleeting life is. Days turn into nights and before I know it, another month has passed in the blink of an eye. My son in second grade, my daughter is now a married woman and my middle daughter will be applying to college soon. Where is the time going?
One of the things I am so aware of as I watch my family grow and change is my need to remain committed to living a life of intent and purpose. It isn’t enough to let days slip through my fingers and hope for the best. I need to embrace each opportunity to build my home from the inside out.
I really want our home to be a respite from the outside world. I like to set up comfy corners to sit down for quiet time, inviting rooms to dine together and welcoming places to play games as a family. Yet designing that environment and stating my intent isn’t enough. I feel God has called me to create a life that is more than a mirage. When you look inside the windows of our life, behind the curtains, there should be more than just a pretty room inside.
That is the heart of authentic living for me. It is creating a life of purpose and living out what I believe. If I don’t commit myself to actually using those pretty rooms to play games with my children or sit down around our table for family dinners, life will pass on by in the chaos of lesser things. And I will miss the opportunities I say I hold the most dear.
As the calendar turns once again, I need to peek inside the windows of my home and ask myself what I am seeing behind those curtains. Do I find evidence of my commitment to living an authentic life? Am I wholeheartedly pursuing the calling that God has placed on my life as the keeper of my home and mom to my children? Time will still fly by and obligations may grow, but living authentically day by day is one of the greatest challenges and privileges I have in life. I’m humbled by all God has entrusted to me.
“…prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
—James 1:22, NAS
©2008, Melissa Michaels
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