TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF AS BUSY MOMS: TAKE TIME TO SLOW DOWN
As a mom, it can be so easy to get overwhelmed and feel like you must do it all.
But the truth is, you can’t do it all. And trying will only leave you feeling exhausted and frustrated.
So how do you find a balance? How do you say no when you need to? And how do you take care of yourself without feeling guilty?
As a busy mom, it’s important to learn how to take care of yourself. We take care of everything and everybody, but we tend to put ourselves on the back burner. While it’s good to give of yourself you still must take care of yourself.
I celebrated my birthday yesterday and my daughter told me the night before, Mom, I want you to stay in bed till 7:15 a.m.
Of course, I said, why? She said I want you to be able to get a little more rest. She knows if my Hashimoto’s is controlled, and I am feeling well. I am going to be up and at it before 7:15.
Yet, I was awake before then, with all kinds of things running in my head about what I needed to do. So, I compromised with her and stayed in bed until 7:00 because I knew she was trying to take care of mom.
I have been doing a series of blog posts about how we moms can save money on our family budgets.
I planned to write a post about using cash versus plastic for our spending. However, I decided to take a break on that and write about taking time for ourselves as busy moms. See next week for that post about using cash.
Many times, I have prayed to be the Proverbs 31 woman. Have you ever prayed that prayer?
After all, the Proverbs 31 woman seems to have it all together. She is a hard worker. Her family loves her, and she works for a noble cause. I mean there is no more a nobler cause than to be a wife and mother. She is a businesswoman as well.
Furthermore, that is my desire. I want to be able to pull off everything as she did, or that is how it appeared.
I want to be able to take care of my kids as a perfect mom. I want to make sure to play with them and enjoy that time efficiently with them before they grow up. I desire a clean home, where nothing is ever out of place and my home is always clean.
I want to be the perfect schoolteacher that has homeschooled my children into little scholars. Also, don’t forget about our husbands. I want to make sure that I take good care of my husband. I am also a pastor’s wife and I have my own ministries that I want to do my best. Lastly, well not really, I want it to be at the top of my list, and that is to nurture and develop a closer walk with God and the Lord Jesus.
Nowhere in this list, is me running a business. Yet I am trying to do that as well.
Yet how do we do it all you might be wondering? Well, that is, how do we do it all and be our very best at everything?
As some of you may know from reading my blogpost Hashimotos and Adrenal Fatigue, I have it and I have to make sure not to overdo it.
So, with everything on my list, I added running a blog to the mix. I started my blog at the onset of covid and just stopped.
I prayed about it and felt like this is what I am supposed to do.
Though now I am staying up late, which is what I am doing right now, (it’s 12:12 a.m. in the morning and I am lying in bed typing) and I am trying to get up before the chickens, to work before the kiddo’s get up.
So, how do I pull it all off?
Well, sometimes I don’t! Just to be honest, I don’t always get everything done. The Bible says seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.
That is where we must start our day out moms. No matter what you have planned or have going that day, you need to start it with Jesus. Through God is how we get things done.
As we pray and get into God’s Word, that is where we find help, strength, and direction for our lives. He will keep us grounded and focused on what we need to do and help us to be calm along the way.
When I take time to do these things, I find I have more peace and I don’t feel so overwhelmed by everything.
You see the enemy of our souls would have us pulled in all kinds of directions trying to figure out what we need to do first. In seeking God, he will direct us to the things that are most important or what we really need to focus on that day.
Speaking of being overwhelmed, that is how I have been feeling lately. I believe that not slowing down and taking time for myself is how I got myself out of balance, what I call (thyroidy feeling). That isn’t a real word, that’s just how I describe it when I start to feel low on thyroid hormones.
Another name for it is a Hashimoto flare. When I start feeling this way it just zaps my energy, I can start putting on weight and just don’t feel well.
One of those ways that can cause me to feel that way is when I’m not eating right, exercising, and sleeping enough.
Which brought me to this blog post. I know if I am pushing it, I couldn’t be the only mom out there that needs to hear it’s ok to take some time and self-care for yourself.
I think about when Mary and Martha had Jesus there with them and Martha was running around trying to make everything perfect. Yet Mary just sat at Jesus’ feet soaking in every word he said.
Jesus told Martha that she was worried about many things, but only one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that better part. That is, she took time for her Lord and Savior. Martha wanted Mary to help with the meals instead of sitting and listening to Jesus.
Jesus told her that Mary would always have time to help, but she wouldn’t always have him there.
That is how we need to look at it. We can always find time to do the things on our list, yet we don’t always take time with Jesus.
So, we need to choose wisely how we spend our time.
When you start with God, he gives you the peace to take time for yourself.
Moms, I encourage you to take some time out for yourself. If you feel like you are running around and getting nowhere, stop and evaluate what is most important.
If you need to take a break and just sit down, do it! It’s ok! You aren’t going to get everything done in one day or even in one week.
Choose your priorities and focus on those things. The rest can wait.
If you need to take a nap, do it! Your kids will survive without you for a few minutes or even an hour. They will be just fine!
Explore what works best for you and make time for yourself. You can’t pour from an empty cup.
You need to take care of yourself, so you can be the best mom you can be! Hashimoto’s or not, we all need to take care of ourselves first!
I think about how we as moms can identify with Martha. We want everything to be perfect and just right. We want to make sure our kids are getting the best education, that our houses are clean, and that we are good wives, good employees, or businesswomen. The list goes on and on and these are great callings. However, I discovered something about the Proverbs 31 woman. In reading that chapter, I discovered that the things she did were a result of her relationship with God. So with God’s strength, she could do many things. As her husband rose in the morning and went to bed at night, she was always before him. She was up working before her family got up and she stayed up late working. Though, there is no way she could do all those things without the Lord’s help and we can’t either.
Yet, she didn’t do it all in one day in fact the Proverbs 31 woman had servants that helped her. While she was a hard worker and a woman to pattern our lives after. She also had help to accomplish the many hats she wore.
Just like the Proverbs 31 woman- a woman that feareth the Lord shall be praised.
So, I want to encourage you moms if you are feeling overwhelmed, to start your day with God. Get into His Word and ask Him to direct your steps.
Take some time for yourself during the day, even if it is just 10 minutes.
Exercise, get some rest and take care of yourself, so you can be the best mom you can be!
In conclusion
I encourage you to find something that you love to do that is just for you.
Me, I love to play the piano. It’s one of my favorite things to do. So, when I have some time or when I make some time, I like to get on the piano or keyboard.
It helps me to de-stress and just enjoy some fun and relaxing time.
I love music and singing. Nothing speaks to me like enjoying some wonderful gospel music.
I also love to take walks not necessarily by myself, but I enjoy walks with my husband for alone time, or also we go on a lot of family walks.
Find something that you love to do and make time for it. Your family will be better for it, and you will be a happier mom.
Just remember you can’t do everything all the time. Seek God and rest in him. Then take some time for yourself to be able to recharge.
Then when you do that, it will help you to be able to give of yourself, which is what we desire in the first place as wives and moms.
