Rest, Connection + Surrender
Rest, Connection + Surrender
From last Sunday until Wednesday of this week, Josh + I went to the English Lake District. For those who haven't been (and can go if you live in this country right now) - make a plan to go. It is the most beautiful place! It has always been very special to Josh + I. I was pregnant with Caleb not long after we met (happy accident), and so we crammed in as many holidays as we could before he was born, to make the most of our time together. One of the trips to Scotland didn't work out so well, so we ended up driving back down the country to a hotel in the Lakes my Dad had recommended. I used to go to the Lakes a lot as a child, but Josh had never been before, and for him it opened up a whole new world. He started running specifically so he could enter a race called The Lakeland 50 (50 miles around mountains - he did it in 16 hours a year after he started to train, the next year he did it in , 9 hours and came 6th!). This then led to a love of fell running, that saw us go to the Lakes much more, and it is where we married 8 years ago, with Savannah 7 months grown in my womb.
This week we went to celebrate our 8th year anniversary. We had 3 nights alone. Josh + I try and make sure we have a weekend alone at least once a month. With working from home, and homeschooling our children, as well as me still co-sleeping with them both, and Josh being in Savannah's bed as a result, we feel deeply the need to have that time alone. Our relationship begins to suffer without it. I often think would it be better if the children were at school, and we shared a bed without the children in it, but then I am also acutely aware that life in itself is enough to get in the way of relationships! Josh + I have not had a smooth ride (when I say Caleb was a happy accident, I don't think Josh will mind me saying it was happy for me, and not happy for him until he held Caleb in his arms). That along with many other differences in our personality + upbringing have led to us having horrific arguments, and at times not knowing how we would survive. We have survived however, and in fact thrived, by making time for each other to communicate how we feel (although often so hard + definitely progressing slowly), and also making time for physical connection (something that has never been an issue for us, and I truly believe has been instrumental to the growth of our love for one another).
I am feeling more into teaching about relationships, as I am not afraid to go against the accepted messaging around what it is to be a wife in today's world. I am a successful woman, who knows her own mind, and won't take any crap, but I am equally increasingly aware of the lost art of surrender as a woman in relationships. These moments with Josh allow me to step out of my ‘masculine achiever energy', and give way to my feminine. To become, and be in love with being ‘The Surrendered Wife’ (which is a book recently recommended to me that I fully plan to read very soon). I will be weaving this learning through The Mothership as we progress (The Family pillar is all encompassing), but also I am being called to create a 6 week immersion into what is coming to me as ‘Sovereign-She’ - Sovereignty in today's world very much calls on Surrender - breaking free from the agendas that are keeping partnerships from being divine + whole. More on that to come…for now…have a lovely Sunday, and I hope you enjoy the little offerings below.
This week’s Podcast Creativity & Healing
This week I am guided towards: Succinctly put Ruth