Today my baby girl is 7 months old. It’s a little wild to think we are one month closer to turning one. All the other months flew by right before our eyes. But month 6 was something else entirely. I’m not quite sure why but this past month has felt longer than a trip to Home Depot with your dad, but I would not trade it for the world.

This has been a really sweet, extended month of getting to watch my daughter learn and grow. Maybe it’s because it is summer time and the days are longer. Maybe it’s because I stopped working the first week she was 6 months old. Maybe it’s because she has reached many milestones this month. I can not quite put my finger on it, but something has made time slow down and I am so very thankful.

These last few weeks of staying at home have been better than I expected. Does that sound bad? I just really was not looking forward to being stuck at home honestly. I tried the stay at home wife life in Alaska and it sent me to the edge. You know in the Disney movie Tangled where she sings that song about all the stuff she has planned for the day? She lists all these chores she starts doing at 7 a.m. and then says she had finished them all by 7:15 a.m. That was me in Ketchikan. I had plans to clean our whole one bedroom apartment and it only took me an hour.

Anyways, I was worried staying at home would drive me crazy. I will not lie, there are some days it does. But for the most part, the Lord has blessed me with some really great moments getting to grow closer with my daughter. I know this month has been a gift from God of connection with my daughter, my husband, and my calling.

Ever since we left Alaska, I feel like we have been running nonstop. House projects and work have taken over our lives. Welcome to adulthood. I know. But we are meant to slow down. To take a breath. To watch our innocent children play and be reminded of the feather-like feeling of no responsibilities.

“Come to me all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (CSB).

This was the verse that God put on my heart at the beginning of the year when we had a newborn and I felt like I was drowning in motherhood. I had never related to the words “weary” or “burdened” until then. The verse completely changed for me when I really knew how those words felt.

It has taken me 7 months to actually receive that rest only the Lord can provide. I am able to listen for God’s voice and see what direction He is pulling me. I am able to enjoy small little moments like family breakfasts. I am able to slow down again.

I often look back on our time in Alaska and reminiscence on the slow-paced island life. I never felt rushed or in a hurry to get somewhere. It felt easier than how we live now.

This time in between jobs, has given me a taste of that dreamy life we once lived in Alaska. This wonderful month has pulled me in closer to a rest that surpasses any way of life I know. Not Alaskan life. Not stay at home mom life. But a divine life filled with a peace that this world can not provide (John 14:27).