Friend, can we be honest for a second? Somewhere along the way, a lot of us started measuring our lives by what we could point to instead of what we actually felt. The bigger house. The nicer car. The thing in the cart we "deserved." And none of that is bad — but none of it was ever supposed to be the point.
Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 has always wrecked me a little. Solomon — the richest, most resourced man of his time — said he denied himself nothing his eyes desired. He built, he gathered, he acquired. And then he looked back and called it all "meaningless, a chasing after the wind."
That's not a guilt trip. That's a gift. Because it means you don't have to chase what he already proved was empty.
What actually stays with us? The conversation on the porch that ran two hours long. The trip where nothing went as planned and it became the story you tell for years. The quiet morning with your coffee and your Bible before the house wakes up. The hug that lasted a second too long because you both needed it. Those are the things that show up when you close your eyes and think "when was I most alive?" It's rarely a thing. It's almost always a moment.
God didn't design you for accumulation. He designed you for communion — with Him, with the people He put in your life, with the fleeting, beautiful now. Psalm 90:12 asks God to "teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Not number our stuff. Our days.
So today, friend, I want to gently ask you: what's one experience you've been putting off because you were saving up for a thing instead? A phone call you keep meaning to make. A trip you keep postponing. A slow morning you keep trading for one more errand. Life is not a warehouse to fill. It's a story to live.
With so much love,
Momma J 🤍
P.S. — if you're craving more moments of stillness with God this season, Still, Small Voice and Grace Unfolding were both built to help you slow down and actually be present with Him. Come find me on Instagram @mommajscozycottage too — I'd love to hear which memory came to mind for you.