The beauty of an empty calendar

The other day I pulled my chalk board calendar off the wall, wiped away December and wrote in January's dates. I went through and wrote a couple of events I knew we had off the top of my head. But then I stepped back and realized it was nearly blank and I had nothing else to fill it in with. To my surprise, this left me feeling uneasy.

My son starts a PE class next month, our mom's group at church starts next month. So, I know that next month will pick up and our schedule will be fuller. One would think that I'd embrace this slow month in preparation for being busy next month. Instead, I find myself trying to find things to fill our days with. Looking at what outing I can schedule so that we have more on our calendar.

I have always tried to embrace slow living and when I think of what kind of person I want to be, someone who has a slow and simple life is what I imagine. So why did I have this overwhelming itch to fill up our days?

I think we as society have glamorized busy schedules. Movies show families running around, chauffeuring kids to sports and extra curriculars. But everyone is so busy, and so stressed all the time. They rarely get to sit down and have a meal together, the parents fight frequently, and when they lay down at night run down and empty, are they really happy? Are all the extras really worth it?

Do our kids really benefit from being signed up for all the things?

I realized as our calendar was nearly empty, and my rising anxiousness at the lack of things to fill in the schedule, that maybe my mindset needs to change.

There is beauty in an empty calendar and there is no need to fill it.

An empty calendar means more snuggles, more meals, more laughs and all around more quality time. If you find your calendar empty, I hope you embrace it and take it as an opportunity to welcome the rest that maybe God is calling you to take. I know I will!