Good Moms have sticky floors and filthy ovens.... and Happy Kids!

I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint -- Jeremiah 31:25

I had a great AHA moment this morning. My daughter April got me a devotional book for "Soccer Moms" for Mother's Day. This morning I was reading it and thinking about it. So here's my AHA moment.

I am weary. I am faint. I never have enough time and according to Daniel, I never take a break. So in reading this section this morning, I was praying for help to recognize that which He has called me to do - and stick to only that. It reminded me of Kate - my second child who is so like me (this is both good and bad, as I'm sure my Mom can attest!) Anyway, one thing about Kate that makes me crazy is that often when I ask her to do something, say, clean the kitchen, I'll come home and she'll have cleaned out the tupperware cabinet or the coat closet or pantry. Wow, you might think, how nice to have a clean tupperware cabinet! Except...she misses getting done what I had asked her to do. And further, when she realizes she still needs to what she was asked to do, she feels tired, cranky, frustrated, and overwhelmed.

This is me! I do things that, while they may need to be done, perhaps not now, or not by me. If the LORD hasn't given me an assignment, I need to stick to what He has given me and make sure I get it done. Then I will both get done what He has called me to do AND not be overwhelmed, tired, and cranky (hopefully anyway). I spend too much time doing other things. Often I see that something needs to be done and I start to do it, taking me away from what He had called me to do. But some of those tasks may not be mine to do. Some may even be things I enjoy, but I need to give them over to someone else.

Good Moms have sticky floors and filthy ovens...and Happy Kids! This was on a coffee mug I bought myself yesterday. I need that reminder. Filthy ovens and dirty dishes and sticky floors need to be cleaned... don't they? Maybe not. Weedy garden beds - OK that was way over the top and did need to be done. But many of the things I spend time doing perhaps could be left undone, done less often, or done by someone else.

I am weary, and I need rest. I need more time for my Lord, my husband, my kids, and myself, and my friends. I need to stick to the tasks to which I have been called by the One who knows best - and I need to try to get them done quickly and leave plenty of time for relationship building.

Thanks to the One who refreshes the weary and satisfies the faint!