IN THE QUIET

This morning, this old farmhouse is quiet. Probably much like it was when she was built in 1920.

No hum of appliances, no steady rush of life at full speed—just stillness. We’re without power, and I find myself taken back to our cabin days, when life was stripped down to what was needed and nothing more.

I’m thinking of Missouri dirt roads and the steady clip-clop of horse buggies.

Of spending time with our Amish friends on their farm,

the children laughing and playing in the fields while we gathered garden goods

or cleaned house for church to meet there  

The lantern light of our cabin comes back to me too—soft and warm as it flickered against the walls when evening settled in. And the crackle of the wood stove as cooler months crept close. I remember sponge baths from a steaming pot on the stove, the smell of fresh laundry lifted by the air on the line, and the coffee pot sizzling quietly in the dawn while I rocked gently in my chair with yarn in hand and the world still half-asleep.

It was simple living—but it awakened something deep in me. A longing for life that isn’t frantic. A way of being that moves with nature instead of trying to outrun it. It’s a kind of life not everyone would choose, but it remains one of the sweetest seasons of my heart.

Not everyone would choose it, but it holds a special place in my heart. . Days like today remind me how easily we forget the comforts that cushion our routines, and how unprepared we often are to go without them. But they also remind me of something else—something gentle and good:

I still prefer the slower way.

The natural light spilling across worn floors. Handwork that steadies the mind. The rhythm of seasons teaching us patience. The chorus of wildlife under a quiet, moonlit sky. A home that asks us to be present, not perfect .A way of living that whispers the beauty of enough.

I would love a hot cup of coffee right now—oh, would I ever. But the power is out.

So instead, I sit here in the silence… listening… remembering… and letting the stillness be a gift.