Not too busy to grow

"I've got my hands full" and "I don't have time to spend with the Lord"


On first hearing these two statements, you'd think its kind of the same thing. But its not. For me one is completely true, one is completely a lie.

These are two things I hear all. the. time. One is from... pretty much everybody. The other is from... hell. I mean lets just be honest.

I can't tell you how irritating it has become to me when I hear "Boy, you've got your hands full!" Its because of how often I hear it. But... it is true. My hands are full. I'm aware. My day is nonstop. Getting kids ready in the morning, packing lunches, making meals, cleaning (this big beautiful house that I'm so grateful for ;)), doing laundry (for eight!), nursing, changing diapers, filling sippy cups, helping with homework, giving baths, answering emails, budgeting, paying bills, staying on top of 3 different schools' functions, meeting with teachers, potty training... oh and trying to actually connect with my husband, my kids, my family, and my friends. And this blog? Its my "me" time, but each post is usually written over the course of a week (or more) unless its one of my silly posts like the last one. :)

~~~

When I was in high school, I was super close with the Lord. I knew what it meant to fully put my trust in Him. I was at church every time the doors were open. I sat on the front row and took notes in my journal for every message (I still have a big box full of those journals in our garage). I remember sitting in my closet and listening to worship music on my walkman. My walk with the Lord was more like running, dancing and spinning with the Lord.

I didn't know then how much I would draw from that time.

Now as a wife and mother of six, I don't have the time to sit in my closet with an ipod. I worship while scrubbing counter tops. In church I'm in the "overflow room" with a kid or two in my lap. Not taking notes in journals, but drawing animals on scrap paper to keep them entertained and quiet. But boy... I'm pretty sure I pray harder now than I ever did then. If you have children, you understand. (A friend of mine says "praying for my kids isn't the least I can do, its the greatest that I can do." Amen to that.) Since its hard to catch the first time, I like to re-listen to pastor Steve's weekly messages again online. While I'm mopping. One message pretty much covers the whole downstairs floor, its perfect. :) And I'm also fed through the fellowship of the saints. Amazing women of God who walk this same road I do. If I'm spending quiet time with the Lord it means its either 5:30am, or its the afternoon and my kids MIGHT be killing each other in the playroom, or its after they've gone to bed and before Jake's gotten home from youth group... and I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. But. :) My quiet times with the Lord, though they are admittedly fewer than I'd like, are deep and rich. He reveals things to me that are molding and maturing me, and I hide them in my heart to "chew on" through the day... or week... month... oy.

I think too often the enemy lies to busy moms. He did to me. And told me that I wasn't close to the Lord as I used to be because my days didn't look like they did then.

~~~

I'm nursing Kate every 3 1/2 to 4 hours. We stare into each others eyes, fairly unhindered for 20 minutes, several times a day. When she goes anywhere, its in my arms. Feeling my warmth, breath and hearing my voice.

My relationship with Ashley much much different than my relationship with Kate. We don't spend long periods of one on one time together. We might go a few days with just basic interaction, but then the one on one times are so precious. We connect on a much deeper level.

But that time when she was a baby, like Kate, bonded us. Connected us. And we draw from it now. It was a completely necessary season to build on to have what we have today. Now we have a more mature relationship. Our time together looks different but we have a greater knowledge of one another. Our love is maybe even stronger than it was then, if that's possible. And in a few years, it'll look different again, and that's okay. Hopefully it'll be even richer, deeper, and stronger.

And so it is with my walk with the Lord. Go back and reread that last paragraph, starting with the second sentance.

But hear me out- if there is "busy work" in your life that needs to be cut out, do it. I'm a huge fan of boundaries. Good ones. But if you're a believer, busy with work that the Lord has called you too- that's. Different. If you're a mom, it doesn't mean you don't have time for the Lord. You can take Him with you as you go. Walking with Him daily but sneak in one on one times. And in those one on one times -though they may be few- take a piece of meat, chew on it well and swallow it as a stronger woman of God! And look forward to with anticipation your next, undoubtedly sweet, time with the Lord.

Relationships grow. They takes on new forms. Obviously the goal is to not wait too long for those one on one times. But if it is, know this, you aren't starting over with each rendezvous. You're building. Not going backwards, it just looks different. You must realize this to keep maturing.

If you're a mom of 1 or 10, I get it. Its hard to find one on one time. But we must. And we must continue to keep Him with us as we cook, fold laundry and wipe little faces. We have to learn how to do this dance called motherhood as a child of God. We have to learn how to grow in each season.


And listen, I'm not saying I've achieved this. Its just the thing the Lord has been talking with me about most recently.

Stand with me, busy women of God. Look deeply into the eyes of your first love and build on a relationship that's already been established. Don't let the enemy tell you it isn't there just because its been a while. Tell that liar you love your God and you're NOT too busy to grow in the Lord! To the lady gawking at your crying baby in Target- that's your call. ;)