Monday, October 24, 2011

Something's Gotta Give

I'm in too deep.  Completely overwhelmed and don't have a minute to catch my breath....and it's catching up with me.  I'm sure many stay-at-home mom's can testify to this fact:  you can be at home and still have a full time job.  A career in the workforce is simply replaced with volunteering, church activities, Bible Studies, school committee's and functions, etc.

And, the thing is, I stay at home so naturally the assumption is that I should be able to bake those brownies for a church function. (I was given a recipe for brownies....are you kidding me? My family doesn't even gets homemade brownies!).  I should have plenty of time to make reminder calls to "remind" others to attend a training.  And, every good Christian woman should be involved in a Bible study.  Not to mention a prayer group for your kids while they're attending school.  Oh, and that trip to the pumpkin patch that the Kindergarten class is going on....I stay at home so I want to go need to go.


Well, guess what?

Decorating fall cookies with my kids is replaced by making homemade brownies for church.

While trying to make uninterrupted "reminder" calls, my kids sit in front of the TV.

I yell at my kids to "hurry up and eat your breakfast" so I can drag them to Bible study with me.

I listen as my 5 year old tells me she just wants to "stay home and play," but then tell her to "get dressed we need to get to prayer group."


The trip to the pumpkin patch seems like a chore because I have been going, going, going and all I really want to do is sit down and rest.

I have to pencil in time with friends...something's just wrong with that.


No one is to blame for all of these commitments but me. I got myself in too deep and believed the lie that "I should be able to do _________ since I stay at home."  Well, turns out, I do not fall into the "supermom" category. I am learning the hard way that my kids and husband are my full time job.  So after way too many months of this craziness, I found it. 

My breaking point.

It culminated itself in a fight. 

My husband asked me to help him with something over the lunch hour.  What?  Do you think I have time for that?  I have to feed the kids and get Rylie out the door for school, how could I possibly have time for one more thing?

Yelling.  Slamming doors.  Childish behavior.  A bewildered, "mommy, you and daddy are fighting just like me and Austyn do."  Followed by a lunchtime prayer for mom and dad to stop fighting.

Breaking point.

Somethings Gotta Give.


(To be Continued...)
(this is me making myself accountable to let go of some things, and I'll write about it when I do.)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Week's Verse:

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14


Fitting, don't ya think? :)

6 comments:

Rachel said...

Ummm, our fight happened yesterday in the car after a crazy weekend full of wedding stuff, b-day parties, ect and our girls looked at us from the backseat and asked us "whats wrong? why are you yelling?" Wow. That shuts you up pretty fast. Thank you LORD for your grace and mercy. Praying for you to find the balance that works for you and your family.

Lora said...

Thanks for your honesty. I'm getting better about saying no by telling myself that I can be on civic committees, prayer groups, multiple bible studies, etc when my baby is away at college and too cool for me. Hard. Church functions getting in the way of family time caused major drama in our household going up, trying hard not to repeat that.

Myra said...

Right on! :) Thank you for sharing!! A dear mentor-lady sent me this link once: http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/girlfriends/girlfriends-in-god-july-26-2011.html. And she taught me that when people ask you to commit to stuff, your answer should be, "Let me get back with you." It's so easy to commit to things because they're staring you in the face, waiting for an answer. But they don't need an immediate answer, and this gives you some time to pray about whether God really wants one more thing on your plate or not.

MotherT said...

AND I'm so sure that the feelings of being overwhelmed has nothing to do with the hormones of being pregnant, do they?? You are certainly in my prayers.

Dan & Tara said...

Hey!
Congrats to you as well! #3 so exciting! We will go from 1 to 3 with this adoption! should be exciting! We will have adopted all 3 boys from Ethiopia! I am excited to have your blog address and keep up with you all now as well! Have a wonderful day and enjoy your kids! Taa

mk said...

Oh, my wonderful, vibrant, God-loving, truthful, transparent Tami!!! This post just makes me want to drive to the Boro, throw my arms around you in a hug you will sort-of love/sort-of hate, and encourage you that "You're GETTING it!!! Much sooner than most of us too!"

There are a thousand reasons why we measure ourselves by what we DO or what we ACCOMPLISH (and maybe one or two of those are actually good)...but to STOP and realize that the wrong things are consuming your time...that you're doing more than you can really handle...well, that's just plain hard to admit. Just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD!! We stay so 'busy for Jesus' that we have no time to actually respond to life as He would like us to!

You've heard me (& that hubby of mine) say that one of my favorite sayings is "the last thing most Christians need is another Bible study." wee've GOT the knowledge...we're just too dang busy to APPLY it to our life!!

I'm thanking God today for your melt-down...cuz thru it MANY of us will be reminded (or hear for the first time) that we need to SLOW DOWN...create some MARGIN in our life where God can doodle and be creative with us, in us, and thru us!!

You are loved & appreciated sweet friend!! Be STILL and KNOW that he is God!!! =)

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