Busyness — is that even a word? Doesn’t sound right when I say it out loud. I love the one definition I found – full of distracting detail. Most days I find myself so busy. I hit the ground running at 6am to get one kid off to school, then the other off at 8:30. In between, I’m inhaling some coffee, getting the dogs out, making breakfast, making lunch, making the bed, getting a load of laundry started, warming up the car, signing school papers, shutting lights and TV’s off and whatever other tasks need to be handled.
Then it’s off to my full-time job. Yes, I have a 40-hour a week job. Sure, I work from home and don’t have to commute, but I still have to work. Most people who have never worked from home think it must a dream. In some regards it is. I’ve had the best of both worlds in Kyle’s 12 years. I’ve been able to work and be a stay-at-home mom. I’m here every morning to see the kids off, and every afternoon to welcome them home from school. But, there are also alot of distractions to overcome when you work from home, and if you are not disciplined, its way too easy to try to tackle all of the other things that need to be done. The other down-side of working from home, in my opinion, is the isolation. It’s lonely, no one to chat with, take a coffee break with. But I know that I am so very blessed to have a GREAT job with a GREAT company, and for that I’m thankful every day.
So with the morning routine and the 9-5 job, there seems to be a million other things that need to fit into 24 hours. You know — getting groceries, post office and bank visits, vet and doctor appointments, preparing dinner, keeping the house clean, volunteering @ school, going to the gym, watching your favorite TV show, keeping up with FaceBook, and sleeping (which no one who lives in my house does well or gets enough of).
Lately, I’ve just felt so overwhelmed with all that needs to be done on a daily basis. Clutter, dust, piling laundry and unswept floors really drive me crazy. But I’m finding myself walking by these things in confusion just not sure how to get it all done. I try to go to the gym at least 3 days a week during my lunch break, but the entire time I’m there, I’m thinking what needs to get done when I get home, and who I’m going to have to taxi around to where.
Some irony here – my church recently started a women’s bible study on “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World”..! Its about trying to be more like Mary in that she yearned to sit at the Lord’s feet and build her personal relationship with Him. But I’m definitely more like Martha – meeting the busy demands of day-to-day life. The irony is that last Thursday was such a crazy/busy day, I was spent and did not make the study that evening. That’s bad. I really need to make time for myself, and for myself and Jesus. More time to pray and read the bible and reflect.
So, I’m really trying to work on these things. Part of my problem is that I don’t delegate well, so I try to do everything myself. I’ve always been like this, so it’s a hard thing to change. I also can never really sit. I always have to be doing something, or multi-tasking. I know that so many women can relate to my story.
So, one of my goals for this years is to have a closer relationship to my Lord, and to do it with less stress and busyness and greater joy.
Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28