“To me, there is nothing very spectacular about this everyday craziness; it is just the result of following Jesus into the impossible, doing the little I can and trusting Him to do the rest.” – Katie Davis
This quote popped up on my newsfeed the other day and it really resonated with me. When I tell people about my life and all of my current responsibilities, they tend to react with something like, “Wow, you’re so busy!” or “How do you possibly have time for all of that?” I’m no longer surprised by that response, but when it first started happening, I was caught off guard. My life just doesn’t feel that busy or crazy. Let me give you a rundown of my responsibilities:
-Mom of three kids age 5, 4 and 2. The littlest is home every day. The middle child only goes to school 3 days a week. I’m surrounded by my kids most of the time.
-Military wife
-Founder/Owner of a Virtual Assistant company, which I thankfully get to do from home, but it does require a few hours of my undivided attention each day
-President of the board for a newly-formed nonprofit organization helping foster children and families
– 3 times a week commitment to a fitness class, plus I try to run a 5/10/15K once a month. I’m hoping a half-marathon is in my near future, so I try to run long distances as much as possible.
For some people, that is A LOT. I also know moms with 6 or 7 kids and a lot more responsibilities. I think it all boils down to what you can handle and what makes you happy. I enjoy being busy! I enjoy a full schedule that leaves little time for boredom. It also happens to leave little time for housework, but we’re managing. My new Roomba is one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, I swear.
A few months ago, I reached a point where I was bored almost every day. Two out of three kids were in school, I had a good handle on my housework and meal planning, and I found myself spending too much time on Netflix. Around the same time, my husband approached the idea of me going back to work. I never envisioned myself going back to work before all of my kids were in school full-time. But my recent lack of purpose had me excited at the idea of working again!
Then I found an amazing work-from-home job and I jumped in head-first. Within a month, I created my own LLC and started signing clients. I felt like I was living the dream. About six weeks later, I became president of the board of the foster organization. It all happened quickly. Maybe that’s why my friends and family thought it was going to be too much to handle at once. But the funny thing is, I actually feel less stressed. Apparently, boredom stresses me out, but having actual tasks to accomplish each day, outside of laundry and dishes, gives me a sense of fulfillment that leads to a calmer and nicer wife and mommy.
I think the ultimate take-away is that I followed God’s guidance and found true happiness as a result. I found freedom in obedience to Him and following His plan for me. I never planned to start working again this early, but God did. He led me down this path and I have no doubt it’s what’s best for me right now. I feel perfectly content in all this everyday craziness. I’m just following the Lord, doing what little I can and trusting Him to take care of the rest.
(Let me take a second here to say this is not the answer for everyone. I felt perfectly fulfilled as a wife and mother for six years. In fact, I resented it whenever someone suggested that being a stay-at-home-mom wasn’t enough, that I wasn’t living up to my potential. The Lord called me to be at home during those six years. It was a wonderful season and I feel so blessed that I was able to be with my kids every day and never miss a milestone or special moment. Now the Lord is calling me in a different direction, but I don’t feel the need to suggest every mama out there start looking for fulfillment outside of motherhood. If that’s where God wants you right now, you stay put and stay happy with your kiddos! There’s certainly plenty of everyday craziness at home with toddlers.)
