Doing My Best?

Doing My Best? ~ Lifeofjoy.meI am a stay at home wife. I was a stay at home wife and homeschool mom but I have worked myself out of that second job as my children grew up and graduated. They are now 19, 23, and nearly 25. Tiffany is still home with me during the day because she is an author, writing books at home. I am thankful to be able to still be able to NOT have to work outside of our home.

But this brings up some new situations for me. My days used to be so full with all that I was doing that getting it all done, well, was basically unheard of. ;) When Tiffany graduated, we both took a well-deserved, or so we thought, break from our usual routine. Unfortunately, I’ve had a hard time finding my groove. And if I’m being totally honest, I have been a bit lackadaisical in getting things done around here.

I am adamant that I am not a housewife because I did not marry a house! I am not a slave or servant either. Nor am I a maid. Then there is also the underlying fact that I hate housework. However, this is not the first time in my life that I have found myself with responsibilities that I did not like. When Mike and I first got married I got a job in a college office typing, filing, and other such repetitive mundane tasks. This was the job God had provided for me and I was happy to have it.

While the kids were young, I had to have them help me clean the house because there was no way I could educate them and do all the cooking and household chores alone, nor should I have, as it was vital to their education in becoming independent adults. But now, here I am on the other side, about ready to have our first grandchild, and I’m having to redefine my days and what is important and what is a time stealer. It is not an easy task, especially after you’ve allowed yourself to let loose and do whatever you wanted to do for a while.

There was a time when I was a new stay-at-home mom that I got sucked into soap operas. I come from a family that loves the entertainment field, so it was easy for me to get sucked in to it. After a couple of years, I stopped watching them. But now, with the internet and all the available options for watching entertainment today, I got sucked into binge watching shows. I’d be sure to get the necessities done before Mike got home, but always the bare minimum.

But here’s the deal, and the point of this whole post of confession, it really wasn’t fair to Mike. He works hard, sometimes in the heat, to provide for us and to allow me to still stay at home and yet, I was being a bit slack in how I handled that luxury.

I’ve been dealing with this for a while now. And then last night I read this article over on Kathy Butryn’s site (actually it came in my email) about being mindful of what we are dilly-dallying with. Okay, put another way, the things we linger over say something about and actually influence who you are.

Bottom line: I have realized that I need to change how I order and prioritize my day. Thankfully, I have already begun to do this, so this article was more of an encouragement to continue on and make even more changes. But for me to go and make a bunch high goals that would end up being as unsuccessful as most New Year’s Resolutions are for me.

My first priority is God. Keeping him in the first place helps me go about the rest of my day getting done the things that are most important. I ask God for His help and guidance throughout my day, and then follow Him as closely as I can. Some times I feel as if I have gotten little accomplished but I know that I did the things He wanted me to do first, which frees me from the guilt of not getting enough done throughout the day.

I hope you’ll go read the article, because it is a good read.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº

2 thoughts on “Doing My Best?

  1. I went through the same thing when my nest became empty. I had to purpose not to fill my day with stuff, but to ask God for direction in this new season of life. (BTW, grandbabies totally rock!)

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