UncategorizedBalance November 27, 2012I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with your families. I had hoped to post a little more last week, but we were in New Jersey visiting my husband’s family. I had hoped to schedule some posts ahead of time, but things got crazy in prepping for the trip and I just decided that just like I was busy with my family, you guys were too and didn’t need to hear from me. But, I hope that you did have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have almost finished a post detailing our Christmas line and I am so excited to share it with you guys. But I had to take a minute today to talk about something else that’s weighing heavy on my heart. The other post will come soon, probably even later today, but I needed to post first about balance. I love decorating. I love redoing things in the home. I love reading decorating blogs. I love Pinterest. I could go on and on… But so often, I get so wrapped up in those things that I live in this “all is peachy” kind of fog where I’m surrounded by pretty, wonderful things and I forget that we live in a broken world with people who are hurting and struggling. This morning, I was stressed trying to get my Christmas line post done that I really had hoped to have done sooner and then I got a text. One of my dear friends who I teach with lost her mother last night. It wasn’t totally unexpected. She’s been battling cancer for the last three months or so, but I don’t know that that makes it any easier at all. Many have been praying for her and this family all fall and I just knew in the back of my mind that she would pull through. I was suddenly consumed with the brokenness and sadness of the world around us. There is sickness, death, pain, loss, and suffering. Where in the world does my little decorating utopia fit into any of that? How does it matter in comparison? I don’t know the right answer, but I think it has something to do with balance. For me, this budding business, blog, and passion for decorating is much bigger than a love of pretty things. For a while now, I’ve felt like it was a large part of my place in God’s Big Story. Holly posted this very eloquently here. I feel like we can’t live in this blissful ignorance and forget that there is a need for God all around us, but that also doesn’t mean that we only think about the brokenness of the world. Believe me, I’ve done that. It will consume and destroy you. I think we have to strike a balance between being aware of the condition of the world and being light. God is joy, hope, forgiveness and awareness. He sees all of this suffering and provides a way out…that’s His Big Story. And whether we know it or not, we all have a part in it. I know that this blog and my community with all of you is a part of this and I thank you for going on this journey with me. I know that this is technically a decorating blog and that I do bring up faith a decent amount. I know that may turn some people off and some may not return because of it, but as Holly said in her post, I can’t separate those two. My faith is so much a part of why I love creating a beautiful, welcoming home and I wouldn’t be being true to myself to never mention it. So thank you to those listen. I would love to hear your thoughts. How do you strike a balance between being aware, yet being light to others?
Jillian says November 28, 2012 at 11:48 am Great post! I think this is probably the hardest part of blogging. And to me, blogging (and reading blogs), is a creative outlet where I can share my story. And while there many things that are heavy on my heart, I try to stay positive. I will occasionally touch on things that are deeply personal to me, but most of the time, I try to keep those things in my heart. We all probably feel the same way in the end – that we use this forum to find joy & inspiration, but when other post about deeply personal things, it resonates with us on a different level because we can identify and feel reassured we aren’t alone. On a different note – the next time you are in NJ, let me know!! I would have love to meet you for lunch! XO Reply