The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

I’ve been ill lately. Some of it strep throat and caring for sick babies, and now an unknown back injury we are trying to properly diagnose.

I’ve been down for the count for two weeks off and on, which has created quite a stir in my routine. Daily workouts look a lot different, cat naps are more frequent and pain relievers are administered whenever able. “Taking it easy” and “listening to my body” have been at the top of the to-do list.

“Taking it easy” doesn’t come easy when you are owner/operator of your own in-home daycare and a mother. My infant daycare babies require lots of TLC, there is always something that must be done and someone that must get somewhere.

This unforeseen slowdowns has given me a bit of extra time with my own thoughts. This can be a dangerous place to wander, but on the flipside, it can actually be blissful in its clarity.

One thought that continues to reemerge is, “Remember the bigger picture.”

“Bigger picture?” you may ask. I know, a tad vague, but bear with me.

We are a focused lot. This day and age we run from one thing to the next. Task oriented. Calendars full. Planners stacked. We have to focus on the next step so that we don’t trip over ourselves. We must keep our nose to the grindstone so that each checklist is checked. Allowing one ball to fall is sometimes the demise of the entire juggling act. We just keep going, focusing on what is right in front of us or next on the list.

Sometimes this pace requires a jolt. Maybe not a jolt of seismic proportions, but any ole jolt that creates a hiccup in our plans and demands a pause. Because, my friends, this world wants you to focus on those things on the calendars and planners. It wants you to be overwhelmed by the world so that you’re seemingly underwhelmed by the magic.

The magic of rest. The magic of quality time spent still. The magic of conversations with meaning and emotion. The magic of making connections with family, friends, nature, the sunset. The magic of the wind in your hair, a breath of fresh air, and a song in your ear. The magic of passion – full on feel-the-earth-and-praise-the-Lord-for-this-moment passion. The magic of seeing past the next task, so that the focus can be on the bigger picture. The aptitude of gratitude is great, when you realize that the grace and beauty you’ve been given is immense.

Living in the present can mean a lot of different things to different people. I’m in the majority that runs from here to there. Running doesn’t make you less grateful or less inclined to see the majesty of that bigger picture. In fact, maybe it gives us the innate ability to see both sides of it and fully grasp why the bigger picture is just so important.

It’s important because without the bigger picture we forget our greater purpose. We aren’t just here for the rat race of life, albeit important and part of the narrative. We are here for the pause.

For the “close your eyes, take a deep breath, feel the breeze in your hair, hear your children giggle” pause.

The pause of passion, that enables us to be consumed with the powers of love that are priceless and precious. A pause allowing gratefulness for even the smallest of blessings in the largest of messes. A pause allowing us to see that it is OK, we are all right, this too shall pass, and our worries He has covered.

The bigger picture allows us to see past the burdens of the now, relish every moment and to see that it is all painting something magical as long as we focus on the bigger picture, too.

May God bless you this Thanksgiving and always.

Sentinel-News contributor Iesha Toft lives in Royal.