I think every woman, wife, and mom knows the frustrations of trying to be many roles in their lives. This week at Home Sanctuary we are working on developing a system that will work for us to live in a home that will nurture us. One of the exercises is one of my favorites, to track by the hour (or half in my case) where our time is being spent. My world is full. I can now verify that with a graph of what I face daily and it doesn’t even include a sport season activity schedule right now. …my first thought after taking the time to look at what January 2009 looks like for a WAHM…is I’ll just crawl back in bed!
God is a God of order, and while my spin the many plates while keep everything from crashing abilities are high….I am in a new grow place for me that has me truly exploring again if the activities I pursue and spend my time on are part of our family’s plan and support “Being my Best Me” for God. Sure, I can hammer it all in and try to force myself to stick to it, but am I allowing God to use me in the roles he produced me for?
My husband suggested this week that I hire help for the house. In his words, “we all expect you to do everything” and truthfully….I’m perfectly okay with letting most of the chores go by the wayside once I am overwhelmed….it absolutely stops. me. in. tracks some days and other days simply makes me feel hopeless….Meals are my first priority as Wife and Mom…I want them to always have a meal to sit down to, that’s homemade, and well done, or at least we all gather….and by necessity the laundry has hit priority after years of fearing Mt Washmore would eventually erode the floor’s ability to hold it in it heighth! But the day to day routines of when this or that gets scrubbed, polished, dusted…its often been lost in the shuffle of writing deadlines, football practice taxi service and the like….
One of my fervant prayers in adult life is to allow God the authority to grow me into something lovely, for you know, He will not force us to obey His agendas for us…….I want to be something God makes lovely, more inside than out, but outside too, to enjoy being the woman he made me in all its facets….and I so am knowing the Potter has some squashing to do on this clay….why is it we so think we can advise God on what He’s doing……or think that something is too much for us….or not enough….its not a new issue, I was reading only yesterday and even then God was admonishing the players in ancient times as to why they thought their ways were betters than His…..
God, forgive me for my ever rising opinions that I can be in charge of my life….help my spirit to be still and listen in your holy presence and obedient in following your lead….
In Jesus name…
Just found you from the Home Sanctuary site. I can so relate to you. I also homeschool (3 children and have a 1 year old) and work two days a week teaching 5th grade at a homeschool tutorial. It can be so overwhelming at times! I am very impressed with your chart. Great technical skills. Mine is just a printed out copy with writing and scribbles all over it..but it is very eye opening! Good luck in your ventures!
Thank you for kind words….my technical skills were more headache inducing than organizational….the chart is missing valuable things like when the heck does the floor get swept..if I don’t have the __Sweep it often doesn’t get done….but just making the chart every six months or sports season, helps me find calm on wild days…email me some day! I’d love to hear from you! [email protected]
Shanna
Just wanted to say thank you for your input this week on the schedules. You are SO FAR ahead of me!! What’s cool to me is how much we can learn from each other. You’ve really added a lot to our discussion and I really appreciate it! 🙂
Your schedule organization is one to be envied! I am so glad you stopped by! You are welcomed anytime!
I loved your words of wisdom and the Lord knows I needed to hear it. I am the organizer of several ministries at my church and I was actually sitting here thinking of how I could pawn one off on another lady who “seems to have more time.”
I’m still struggling with the weight of it all, but I know that it is my attitude–not all that God has given me. The one thing I KNOW I don’t need to give up is my time with Him. In fact, this is a season in which I think I need to be doing even more of that.
Thanks for the thoughts.
Elaine
Thank you ladies for the kind words. Charting was a skill that came from being in Mary Kay for so many years (and still) because I am so eager to “please” I often was over doing on silly stuff and not ever getting to what truly mattered to God or to me. We all have the same 24 hours, but in this year of “Being my best me” I am trying to truly continue to question in every area of my life if I am spending my life in ways that I would choose, or simply letting things happen….
The sign on my wall says it all:
When you don’t know what you’re doing DO IT NEATLY….
I am so THERE, right with you.
And now i rush out the door to take T to MIL and go to work.
Have a blessed day! Love ya!