It feels like I have used this title before…maybe I have but if so its worth repeating. I live my life by inches not by miles.
The older I get the more I realize that life, to be truly tasted and enjoyed needs to be taken in small bites.
There is a temptation to lose the beauty of the single flower because I am trying to conquer the whole forest.
When I give into that temptation, and start to think about the miles I have to go before I sleep for the night, instead of the inch I have left to walk before I can rest for a minute, I find myself getting filled with stress and striving. In that negative mindspace I find myself constantly disappointed by my own inability to meet my self imposed demands and by the world which falls so short of my expectations.
Take the Vicarage project for instance.
When I look at the project as a whole, and think of all that needs to be done, and think of all the money its going to cost, and consider all the possible problems which are going to rise between now and the time I pay the final installment of the loan we are taking out to pay for it all well….
But life isn’t meant to be lived in all those miles at once. It is meant to be lived in the inch we are on right now, because honestly that is all we can deal with…right now.
More than that it is meant to be a celebration of this inch. Not a worry about what the next inch will bring. What can I find to be thankful for in the moment….
I am thankful that all of our bank paperwork has now been received.
Something bad kept happening when I tried to send it, but our friendly neighborhood banker Deb took care of it for me this morning. Yay!
More than that though Brenda has found a new home base for her work in The Netherlands. She was told just over a month ago she would have to move from her current BOO (Base of operations) becacuse the owner is selling it.
That news created a few tough inches. It is not easy finding an apartment when there is an ocean between you and a site visit. But thanks to some very dedicated ministry partners and a good recommendation from her old landlord, Brenda just signed paperwork on a new two bedroom house.
Further she has sensed the leading of the Lord that she will be back in the Netherlands by the end of August or the first week of September!
Life is full and fast now, but living by inches is how I am keeping my peace.
Notes From the Vicarage 
Reblogged this on Lillie-Put and commented:
Here is some news about living . by inches.
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That’s very interesting as I am more motivated by the miles. When I see the task before us and the challenge that it is it’s time to step up and move forward.
I have to work in the inches but if I don’t have challenging “miles” before me then the task seems mundane.
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That is very interesting. This is an example of how the manifold wisdom is given to the body. We need each other and each other’s distinctive perspectives in order to function. Maybe it is looking at all the steps and possibilities of steps that becomes overwhelming for me. I find focusing on what is right in front of me the bit I can do now is very gratifying…It is funny for someone who l;ikes to “follow the threads” of things. Yet it is something I learned to do under Pastor Risto (two pastors ago for those of you who may not know). He always encouraged us as staff to just focus on today not on all that tomorrow would bring.
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