{"id":2897,"date":"2012-07-25T07:56:39","date_gmt":"2012-07-25T11:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2897"},"modified":"2012-07-25T07:56:39","modified_gmt":"2012-07-25T11:56:39","slug":"broken-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/07\/broken-days.html","title":{"rendered":"Broken Days"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>While in Hawaii, my daughter and I rode the bus a good bit. \u00a0Waiting at the bus stops or traveling to our destination, I had time to look around the beautiful island of Oahu. \u00a0These were pleasant breaks in our day. \u00a0We often talked about the morning or the coming day. \u00a0During other intervals, we simply sat silently watching people.<\/p>\n

Even though I value promptness, I enjoy broken days. \u00a0Taking time to enjoy the moment feeds my soul. \u00a0A\u00a0fresh breeze, a quiet pause, the sunlight coating my face and arms. \u00a0It is told that Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles Wesley, would often take her apron and put it over her face. \u00a0During those times, none of her 19 children were allowed to disturb her.<\/p>\n

One of the most valuable things, the mentally challenged community has taught me is to enjoy the moment. \u00a0Rejoice in the broken days. \u00a0During those precious times, the strains of the day are lost. \u00a0It\u2019s a time to refuse worry about the world economy to invade your mind and soul. \u00a0The future and the past can be neatly tucked away like unused luggage because only the moment remains.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>While preparing for bed last night, I received two phone calls. \u00a0One was from an ailing friend, who was returning my call. \u00a0The other was from a fellow employee advising me of a change in her schedule. \u00a0I\u2019ve learned that I rest best when I spend about an hour in the evening getting ready for sleep. \u00a0The phone calls were welcomed and necessary but they broke my prep time. \u00a0After I hung up the phone, my mind began to fret because I was now wide awake.<\/p>\n

Quickly I got out of the bed and took a few steps back into my preparation for sleep. \u00a0I reminded myself of the benefits\u2013and necessity\u2013of broken days. \u00a0Paul tells us to \u201crejoice in the Lord.\u201d \u00a0Then he repeats his admonition, \u201cAnd again, I say, \u2018Rejoice.\u2019\u201d \u00a0 None of us have the luxury of perfect schedules or unbroken hours. \u00a0Therefore, we can learn to look and listen, rejoicing and becoming refreshed by the breaks, enveloping them into our times of rest, rather than fretting about the interruption.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While in Hawaii, my daughter and I rode the bus a good bit. \u00a0Waiting at the bus stops or traveling to our destination, I had time to look around the beautiful island of Oahu. \u00a0These were pleasant breaks in our day. \u00a0We often talked about the morning or the coming day. \u00a0During other intervals, we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,3,182,40,186,49,16,8,4],"tags":[690,21,688,7,699,715,701,694,19,689,26,6,436],"class_list":["post-2897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-developmental-disabilities","category-disability","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mental-retardation","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-rest","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-susanna-wesley"],"yoast_head":"\nBroken Days - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/07\/broken-days.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Broken Days - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While in Hawaii, my daughter and I rode the bus a good bit. \u00a0Waiting at the bus stops or traveling to our destination, I had time to look around the beautiful island of Oahu. \u00a0These were pleasant breaks in our day. \u00a0We often talked about the morning or the coming day. \u00a0During other intervals, we…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/07\/broken-days.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-07-25T11:56:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/busstop.jpg?w=128&h=193\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Broken Days - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/07\/broken-days.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Broken Days - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"While in Hawaii, my daughter and I rode the bus a good bit. \u00a0Waiting at the bus stops or traveling to our destination, I had time to look around the beautiful island of Oahu. \u00a0These were pleasant breaks in our day. \u00a0We often talked about the morning or the coming day. \u00a0During other intervals, we…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/07\/broken-days.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2012-07-25T11:56:39+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/07\/busstop.jpg?w=128&h=193"}],"author":"Linda G. 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