The Garden of Contentment

This past week of sun and sky has made me feel completely blessed to be where I am. These are some pictures to help capture my contentment. Going from living in town, with the roar of 99W to this, oh, how good it is. We went from never seeing a sunset, to now seeing one every night. We went from seas of traffic to seas of white clover. It is good to get back to space and view.

However, I was content living in the "city" too. I was not at first. Both my husband and I felt very trapped by all the cement. I remember looking at parking lots and thinking about all the yummy soil that was buried alive under there, that had life to give, but now couldn't. Other things also contributed to my feeling of unrest. I prayed for a spirit of contentment, and it came. I loved my life near the hustle of Portland, but it is so good to be back where my soul was raised and I first heard God. In so many of these settings I spent time just listening and talking to God.

The other day I saw my oldest stretched out in the grass, with his arms under is head. It looked like something from a Huck Finn novel. I smiled. He was experiencing God through God's creation.

Reminds me that God created a garden for his first people, not a city with cars and exhaust. It is good to return to the garden, good for me and my family.