These past few days the Lord has laid on my heart Matthew 11:28 “Come to me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” It wasn’t that fact that I was tired of life, and it wasn’t the fact that God is trying to teach my family something, that allowed that verse to sink deeper into my heart. It was the fact that I was making myself tired and I was making myself heavy laden! As ladies, wives, and mothers we are BUSY! We have work, children, houses to clean, meals to cook, appointments, t-ball games, bible studies, coffee with our girlfriends, and work, and on and on and on.

Are these things wrong? Absolutely not! I believe that in a world of Pinterest, DIY, Facebook etc. that we feel pressured to be the PERFECT LADY! Sure God wants our best, but are we expecting the unrealistic with that? I realized this week that thanks to all of these external pressures (Pinterest, DIY, FB, Pioneer Woman) that I was expecting so much more of myself than the Lord does. He expects me to glorify him by being a wife and a mother. Does that mean my linen closet has to be perfectly organized and my fitted sheets folded to perfection? NO! Does that mean all my teaspoon and tablespoon measuring devices have to be hung and labeled inside my cupboards? NO! Does that mean that my child can not have any boxed meal ever? THE HORROR! But the answer is no. My child will not die from one serving of chicken helper.

My point is this. Are you making yourself tired by the world’s standards of a good wife, a good mother or a good single lady of God? Are you laboring yourself too hard with washi tape, Rubbermaid or glitter glue? Are you just exhausted from all the commitments that you just can’t say no too? Honestly, do our children need to be in dance class, sports, swimming and piano all in the same semester? If they can’t drive themselves, then probably not. We may think that by being the world’s version of our “best” that we are doing our family a great amount of good. What our family’s really need is US! Our love, our attention, our focus and our prayers. In 15 years are my sons going to relish every single four-course meal I made, FROM SCRATCH by watching Pioneer Woman on Netflix? Nope. They’re going to remember how often I got down on the floor and played legos with them. In 10 years is my family going to remember how organized my junk drawer was, thanks to never ending pins on organization? Not a chance, they’re going to remember the books and devotionals I read them before bed and the long talks about the Lord that ensued. In 5 years, is my husband going to love the fact that my throw pillows were always fluffed to their maximum fluffiness, thanks to Target? No, he’s still going to be annoyed that there are 17 of them on the bed. He’s also going to remember us taking time as a couple to pray for our marriage, our children and where the Lord wants us in life.

SLOW DOWN! It’s ok to say no to others that want to take time away from your family with good deeds. Without a family we have nothing. Think back to Joshua 24:15 “As for me and my HOUSEHOLD we will serve the Lord”. Our family needs US! Our family needs the version of us that is not focused on washi tape and glitter glue. Our family needs the happy, non-stressed version of us, where we aren’t the ones making ourselves heavy laden.

Cheers,

Nila