The HOA removed some pine trees behind our house last week. Our whole morning was filled with sawdust and chainsaws and watching arborists climb up the trunks to the very top.
They made it 75% through this last tree when suddenly the voices, noise and climbing just stopped. It was eerie. I walked outside to see what happened and snapped a picture when I realized.
The whole crew that was 60 feet up in this tree, hoisted with ropes and hands full with equipment, was taking a break.
They had shuffled all the equipment down, climbed to the ground, took off their climbing gear, and rested.
I would be a very bad tree trimmer. Everything inside of me sees a 3/4s done job.
They’ve already taken so much time to hoist everyone and everything up to the top of this tree – shouldn’t they just finish this project and take a break after?
At the end of April, I was really struggling with this very same issue except motherhood and work had no end in sight.
The second I washed bottles there’s was a new one dirty. The laundry pile was never done. I would stay up until midnight answering emails only to wake up at 5 a.m. to responses to all those emails. I was hanging up the phone with a client to answer another clients call while my kids were crying for me.
There was no space for a break.
So, I broke.
My husband encouraged (read: demanded) me to climb down my pine tree and take a break. We had some hard conversations (read: arguments) and made a strategy moving forward.
That April day, I texted him this message: “It feels like when we prune, we allow new things to grow.” The pruning was painful.
It viscerally hurt me to do it, but I dropped two of my larger clients at work (and 60% of my income). I started therapy. I prioritized sleep and time for devotions. I asked for help. I decided to spend less time on a screen and more time being present with my kids.
I’m not cured, but I do see the tiniest buds of new life starting to bloom. I’m feeling more content in the thick of motherhood and work and more equipped to take a break in the midst of it all.
I was present enough to notice when the Lord put arborists in my backyard…putting pruning, rest and new life on visual display.
I hope now you will be too.
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