Welcome to my space here at yearn love grow! If you are new here welcome, and for those who read what I write-thanks! I have sat down quite a lot actually to attempt a post, but never finish and things get busy. Life gets busy, and before you know, you are not really sure what has been consuming your time.
Life at home seems to magnify this exact concept. The concept of productivity vs. relaxing. The concept of being in the moment with your kid(s) and getting 'things' done around the house. The incredibly delicate balance of figuring out priorities and acting on them without stressing yourself out.
I do now know where you are in this very moment, how you found this blog post, or what you are thinking, but sitting and resting with Scripture IS the best use of time. If there is one thing I know, it is that filling our minds with Scripture is not wasteful. Being at home with my toddler has shown me how much I NEED Jesus and I NEED scripture. When I was working I had the opportunity to structure my day the way I wanted to and it allowed more 'time' so to speak to engage in meditation. But, with all things, come priority and action. You may have time, and are not using it well. Here are a few ways that may help you to stay at home and thrive.
1. Spending Mornings with God.
Yes, mornings. Starting your day before coffee, food, work, school, children and everything else starts moving, is best to sit with scripture and just be. THIS is hard. THIS take effort, THIS is costly. Why? You are giving up other things-hence priorities. I am personally not the morning type and truly it has taken time for me to get up and motivated to feed and caffeinate my family in the morning. While it is a good motivation and I totally nail it now, if I do not have my quiet time, I most likely will not have it, AND the day does not seem as productive nor does it have a good pace.
"God increases our time when we give him ours from the beginning."
2. Sunday Prep
I love Sundays for the sheer reason that I get to organize my week and really take a look at how I can accomplish my tasks for the week. I think it is a great day to be able to grocery and meal prep, get activities for Riley together and reflect as well as dream about the coming week and the hope that always fill a new week.
3. Praying through Scripture.
Staying home can just be super daunting and can evoke many fear-filled emotions within us. I think staying home with a little can draw out insecurities and greatly brings immense amounts of humility from the beginning. You can read only so much about why a baby does this or that before you just need to pray, give it to the Lord and use our modern medicine. Having scripture paint your house, or being able to refer to it quickly is so useful and helpful.
4. Know What you Do is Good.
Like most, it is so easy for me to compare to others, and to of course not think that I am doing a good job and staying home and being with Riley. Understanding your role, the timing and that God is with you is key to positive self talk and a renewed mind. Again God is the one that can renew and transform our minds but only when we look to HIM for our identity and not the world. The busy-ness of the world says that I need need need, and not be, be, be. Being a Mom at home, working or not, the down on our knees, playing and laughing and growing is what these kiddos need. They need love, discipline and laughter. A safe place and a parent who engages them in the frustrating moments. They need parents who can separate their emotions from the kids in the heat of the moment. THIS comes from Christ.
5. Fear is not the root
I already was an anxious-driven person, and parenthood only unveiled that which was always there and then some. My fear became so out of hand that I really thought I needed medication. When Riley was born, they say to sleep when she does, and it wasn't that I didn't try or didn't have the time, I literally was so stricken with fear that my body would not relax. Ya, not the best feeling when you are already sleep deprived. I found a great quote from "RevivedLife.com: "But fear is a fruit, not the root. The root is unbelief in our hearts. That’s why the greatest obstacle to a life marked by serving the Lord and being obedient to His prompts is not fear … but unbelief. Unbelief is our unwillingness to believe that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. When we respond with unbelief, we are saying to God, “You are not trustworthy. Therefore, if I am faced with a situation that depends on You to come through, I won’t take a risk.”
This quote hit me pretty hard and truly couldn't be anymore accurate for life. Our unbelief is where it all lies and always has. You can take it straight back to the garden when Eve believes whole- heartedly that God did not provide to the best of His abilities, left something out that she is not missing and therefore ate the forbidden fruit. She was convinced that God did not come through, in one sense lied to her and that she needed to take care of the situation herself. How many of us are doing that right now?
I will leave you lovely people with this: The picture at the top is a great reminder. Although beautiful, the ocean is also extremely dangerous. Flying high above, or maybe on a boat safety is certainly near, but the perspective of the picture shows how dangerously close we can all be from impending doom. This right here is the fine balancing act. The beauty and trust and the apprehension and caution. The balance can only be found in He who is greater.
