Balancing Act

Being a working wife and mother, life seems to be even more of a balancing act than it ever was before. My daughter is now two years old, and there are so many fun things to do with her now that she's getting so much bigger. This is both great, and overwhelming at the same time. I luck out, that she still naps, but outside of that quite 1-2 hours on my day off, there is no much time that is not devoted to her. Now that I have discovered my faith again, it seems that I struggle to find the right way to balance out my time with my daughter, my time with my husband (which is limited as we do not have the same day off at all - this works out great for daycare, but not as much for spending time together as a family), and trying to squeeze in my time for reflection and prayer with The Lord, which feels as if it should be much more of a priority.
I find myself trying each day to see how I can fit everything in my schedule.
Dancing with my daughter, playing with play dough, watching my favorite TV show or playing games with my hubby, catching up on my favorite Syfy series, reading a good book, doing the crossword, checking-up on my email, checking in with my sister, fixing the rip in Winnie The Pooh or my daughters PJ's, and then realizing, I'm not done yet, it all seems overwhelming from time to time (or nearly all the time). Everyone talks about balance, and multi-tasking, but how can we truly accomplish this? And how, besides the hour on Sunday at Church (which part of the time I am stopping the little one from trying to jump on the pews or having a meltdown because her shoe just fell off or some other crisis with her, which also makes me feel guilty for interrupting other peoples time with God), how do you get in your time with the Lord? Is there enough time in the day to even try?

Of course there is, you need to make the time. Sometimes you have to decide which is more important, watching another episode of "Torchwood" or "Storage Wars" or taking that half hour (without commercials), to pray. One way I get some time in with the Lord is to read at least one Bible passage a night (I find myself needing to do this before I finish getting ready for bed as I have been know to doze off while reading if I wait too long). I want to say one day, that yes, I have indeed read through the entire Bible. This is an accomplishment I would be very proud to make and would treasure for a long time.
Outside of this, I try to pray while I'm in the shower, driving to work after dropping my daughter at daycare, right before I'm ready to start to really go to sleep (while my husband is finishing getting ready for bed and I have a moment or two alone) or whenever I have a spare moment that I can just at lease say "Hi God, it's me and I just want to say Thank You for everything". I try to get out this simple little frase as often as I can, because to me, these are some of the most important words in my day, outside of "Please help me understand what you have chosen me to do on this earth for you and how I can best serve you?".

With all this, I still feel as if it's not quite enough, and I always find myself searching and praying for more, more time, more understanding, more knowledge. And I realize now, it's because I have begun to treasure this time alone with me, my thoughts, and God.
I believe, that re-thinking my tasks through out the day, re-directing my plans, and asking for God's help, is just the beginning of my journey, but the beginning is always a great place to start. I have also found myself listening to the AM radio from time to time and catching a Christian radio station as part of my journey through Lent. Lent is a time for sacrifice, and If I am just taking a small step in sacrificing listening to my Country, Pop or other music and replacing it with some wisdom, I think that's a step worth taking! I would suggest, if anyone can, to take some time here and there to listen to one of these broadcasts in their neighborhood, you would be surprised to find answers to questions you never knew you had. I also went online through my local station and signed up for a few email lists as a way to allow myself to see what other people have experienced with The Lord, and hopefully learn something in the meantime.

Does this mean, that this is what every moment of my day is dedicated to, yes and no. I feel that bonding with my daughter and my husband, instead of ignoring them while I read a Bible Passage or one of my emails, is prayer in itself. Everyone needs to find the balance in their own life, for a while mine felt out of balance because I was all family, no God. Then, I started going back to Church and was all God, not necessarily no family, but I was trying to find where to fit God into my family and personal life, without feeling like I was neglecting my faith, or my family. I have just started to be able to try and balance all of this, and realized that without God, I wouldn't have my family, and knowing my family is knowing how God truly cares for me and for those around me. Sorry, if it's feels like I go on sometimes, but sometimes there is so much to say and not enough room in the world to say it all.

If there is anyone else out there who is reading this, or any of my future posts, and is either struggling with their faith and needs someone to share their fears and doubts with, or anyone who just wants to share words of encouragement and faith so that everyone can hear, please don't hesitate to leave a note on this blog. This is not just for me, but for anyone who needs to know that they are truly not alone out there and someone else may be going through the same things that they are now, or have gone through the same things in the past.


Thank you all of listening and Gold Bless!