Persisting....With Flexibility

Hi there friends.

I've been a bad blogger lately.

Want to know why? Hmmmm...let's see what kind of excuse I can come up with and then see if you'll believe it.

Here it is...The dog ate my homework.

Pretty lame, huh? No dog here anyways...just kids...and they eat a LOT...including, it seems,  the time I used to have to blog while they were napping.

There you have it...my biggest excu...um...reason...for lack of blog posts.

While we're on the topic...How in the WORLD do any of you mommas get anything done without a nap time in the day?

I'm struggling. Big time. Help a momma out...I need some tips!

Basically, life has been busy, crazy, nonstop.

My house is never clean. I have freelance projects hanging over my head. My husband has been inundated with his own work stuff. There have been birthday parties, Easter shopping, planning, cooking, visiting, crafting with kids, piles of laundry, preschool events, the list goes on and on....does this sound like your house?

Please tell me it does!

I was laughing to myself the other day because a couple of mommy friends were saying funny things to me...things like "Lisa, I wish I had a "passion"...you know, like your writing and blogging. I wish I knew what my "thing" was."

 Mere hours later I found myself reading Facebook and saw all of the WONDERFUL things that both of these friends were doing with their children; cool science projects, amazing crafts...super quality time spent with their kids.

I started thinking..."I wish I had their abilities, know-how and time to do that kind of cool stuff with my kids!"

I started feeling sad that my "passions" had been taking the place of some of that stuff with my kids lately...that they seemed like way better moms than me...

Sigh...

I know there is no right or wrong, but it starts to feel that way sometimes, doesn't it?

How funny that we all think we should be doing things differently... that we are envying some part of the other woman's life and they are envying ours.

I'm not sure what to make of all of this at the moment...Just thought I'd throw it out there in case it resonated with anyone.

We're hard on ourselves...too hard sometimes...

I'm learning to reflect, but graciously; Is God trying to show me something in my questioning and frustration? Is He prompting me to change something, or simply teaching me to be content with who I am? Who he made ME to be.

I'm learning to persist, but with flexibility; Life is challenging. Raising kids is hard work. Sometimes we need to put our heads down and just keep pressing forward. Sometimes we need to stop, pour a glass of wine (or grab a cup of tea!) and watch American Idol with our husband.  Sometimes it is good to clean, and purge and organize...sometimes we need to just relax in the chaos, with the mess surrounding us.

To persist...but be flexible.

I'm learning to accept...wholeheartedly. Accept who I am...strengths AND weaknesses. Accept that I have limitations and that that's o.k.

Accept that my sister is a WAY better housekeep than I am...it's always going to be that way! Accept that my kids may end up needing a little bit of therapy someday (hopefully just a little bit!), but that it's all part of God's plan. Where I fall short, in being a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend...He nudges me along, and fills in the gaps where they need to be filled.

But, perhaps most importantly, I'm learning to trust...without inhibition. Trust that God has this ALL figured out. Every. Little. Silly. Important. Detail. Of my life. Before I was born, written in his book and on the palm of his hand. I can't do ANYTHING to change it, I can merely press into it.

So while the time in my days seems so much shorter, my heart keeps growing bigger.