One of my favorite authors, Emily P. Freeman sends out an email the end of every month sharing three questions she has asked herself when reflecting on the month. Here are the questions with April along with my answers to each below.
- What was the funniest thing that happened in April?
- What do I miss?
- What does peace look like in May?
The funniest thing that happened in April is probably my attempt to make homemade hot dog buns. We had hot dogs, but no buns, and after finding a recipe, it seemed completely logical to just make the buns myself. Well, the buns certainly brought a good round of laughter for all but we ended up eating our hot dogs on hamburger buns instead – store bought hamburger buns.
A very close second would be each and every time the girls and I play the card game “Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza.” This was a random card game I had never heard of I bought back in March, at the very beginning of this season and it was one of the best decisions and “quarantine purchases” I have made! It is loads of fun! And we laugh and laugh a lot when we play.
I miss a lot and as Emily answered, probably a lot of the same things we all are missing. What I miss most are the things that were supposed to happen or the events that were supposed to take place over the next few weeks that we now know are not going to happen. Samantha’s 5th grade overnight field trip, her 5th grade moving up ceremony, her 11th birthday pajama party she has been planning and talking about for at least six months, the girls’ dance recital they worked so hard for all year, concerts, meeting friends’ new baby. Those are the things I miss the most. I also miss seeing friends face to face and it not being weird because we are outside and purposely keeping our distance. I miss attending church on Sunday mornings and B3 gatherings on Friday nights together, in person with friends that are like family.
As for what peace looks like in May, peace looks like not looking much further ahead than today. Being present in every moment, focused on doing what I need to be doing right now – and being content with that. Peace looks like spending even more time in prayer and scripture and simply enjoying being in God’s presence.
How would you answer these three questions?