Last Thursday morning, I got up, took a deep breath, and faced a new day. I pulled up my boot straps, drank another cup of coffee, and looked at my schedule. For the next few days, I was going to be busy. Not just "busy", but BUSY, busy. Circumstances worked out that I had something to do (or plan) almost every moment Thursday afternoon through Sunday night. My friends laugh when I say I have a busy weekend. The comment "When do you not have a busy weekend?" gets said to me at least once every other week. I often tell former students (who ask me if I am ever going to go back to teach) that I am more busy now than I ever was teaching. And that is saying a lot. Let me give you an idea of my schedule (and just so you know, I enjoyed every bit of it and do not regret doing any of it).
NOTE: I'm just giving you my schedule for this weekend. You can skim it or skip it...there IS a point at the end of all this.
Thursday
10 am: Get carpets cleaned (I gave the carpet cleaners a jar of pear butter because they worked a miracle on my carpet!)
11 am: Pick up groceries and final birthday party items for the weekend.
Noon: go visit a dear friend in the hospital who just had a baby.
2 pm: Make lasagna, salad, and dessert.
415: pick up tea and bread (was going to make bread, but it didn't happen)
430 pm: Set up food for the young people at our church for a fellowship
5-830: Young People Fellowship (a fun time!)
9:00: Make cupcakes and icing to put together for my son's birthday party
930: Finish putting together guest gifts for my son's birthday party
1030: Write party schedule and get last minute stuff ready.
1100: Prepare cinnamon rolls for Saturday morning.
Friday
7-9 am: Finish cupcakes (see blog post on this...to be posted later this week), putting together items for party, packing up car.
9-10: Pick up pool noodles and ice, then head out to Givhan's Ferry State Park for the party.
10-1230: Set up party site, prepare all games, set out food
1230-130: REST (What?! I got an hour to rest?! Well...sort of)
2-5: Birthday party.
5-10 pm: Bring boys back to our house for camping in the backyard, roasting marshmallows, and jumping on the trampoline
10-1130: entertain daughter since she wanted to sleep in the tent with the boys...we popped popcorn, painted our nails, and watched I love Lucy.
Saturday
630: Put cinnamon rolls in the oven and pick up the trash the boys left strewn all over my backyard before heading to the tent for the night...oh, and they were all awake when I went outside.
7-9 am: Feed boys, help them pack up, do the dishes.
10 am: Target to pick up new leotard for Abigail for gymnastics
11-12: Abigail's gymnastics class (SO impressed with how much she has already learned!!)
12-1: Pick up lunch and head to California Dreaming to get on a boat with my parents and sister.
1-6: Boating in the Charleston Harbor (I seriously wanted to sleep at this point, but I was afraid of getting sunburned or fall off the boat).
7 pm: Pick up pork roast and cokes for tomorrow's Father's Day and prepare it (used the first meat rub from this site...delicious!!!)
Sunday
7-8 am: Check on BBQ and set to cook just a little bit longer, prepare breakfast, get myself and children ready for church.
830-1230: Church
1245-145: Make rolls for Father's Day lunch (French Bread rolls from this site)
230-5: Father's Day lunch with family at my parent's house
5-630: Visit friend who is still in the hospital
7pm: Go home, clean, and then crash.
So what was the point of all that? If you look closely, you can see that squeezing in time to just rest in the Lord was not scheduled. As much as I love serving my friends and family, serving the Lord should also be a priority. I have a hard time saying "no" to people. I want to be seen as reliable. I want to be reliable. But by Sunday afternoon, I was running on fumes. I was reminded to eat, and I was starting to shut down. Someone else had to fix my daughter food because the moment I sat down, I was having a hard time getting back up. I had burned both ends of my candle. The comfort I can take, though, came to me this morning in my quiet time.
I am currently going through a Bible study on the Proverbs 31 wife (through Good Morning Girls). Last week's verses were about how the Prov 31 wife's oil was burning all night as she provided for her family. The important thing I needed to remember was that Wife didn't neglect her family. She does not do all that work to receive glory from others. She does it because she loves the Lord and her family. God carries her. The Lord sent me a set of scripture verses through another devotional I follow in the mornings (Proverbs 31 Ministries...can you tell my desire is to be the Proverbs 31 wife?)
It was a good reminder that no matter how busy my schedule gets, no matter how many chores need to be completed around the house, no matter how many meals I have to make, and no matter how many times I sit by my friend's hospital bed, God gives me the strength, and I must make sure I set aside time daily to receive God's wisdom, love, and grace.
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| The rare moment I got to rest this past weekend. I should really do this more often. |
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