Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Running on Fumes
Don’t you feel like life should be more than just “getting by,” “barely making it,” or let’s face it…having nothing left for yourself at the end of the day? With gas prices at an all time high, we’re letting our cars run on fumes before we refill the tank. Aren’t we like that with our own lives sometimes? We run on fumes and refill at the last minute, or do we? Do we even refill our own tank at all? It’s a new diaper for the baby, clean sheets for the toddler from the leaky the night before, lunch packed for the husband, refilling the pets’ food bowls, folding laundry, emptying trash cans, and as you well know, the list goes on. Feeding everyone is a constant demand in itself. Doesn’t it seem like you’ve just finished breakfast and the kids are already asking for a snack? After lunchtime, you already have to start thinking about what you’ll make for dinner, while slicing up cheese and handing out apple slices for an afternoon snack.
What about yourself in the midst of this whirlwind of demands. What do you love to do? Have you made time to bless yourself with a little bit of tender loving care? The truth is that our cars run better if they’re full of gas, not just running on fumes. We all know that truth for our cars, but we infrequently apply it to our own lives. When the car literally runs out of gas, it ceases to run. We don’t want to wait for that drastic result in our own lives. I want to encourage you and myself to take time out for ourselves. Maybe it’s just an extra five minutes at the gym to stretch and meditate on God’s quiet voice. Is it that haircut or facial you’ve been putting off for months and months? For me, it’s a massage certificate I’ve had sitting in my kitchen drawer for over two years now. It would have been better if it actually had an expiration date written on it. It could be as simple as a ten minute phone call with that college roommate you’ve needed to touch base with. Maybe it’s just a quiet walk, just you and your MP3 player.
If we don’t refill our tanks, we pay a high price. When we run on fumes, we’re still running, but we’re less effective and less joyful. Think of the woman you could be at completing life’s thousands of tasks if you took a little bit more time for yourself. Five minutes here or ten minutes there might seem irrelevant or insignificant, but in the long run, a changed mindset will help us to take advantage of the opportunities when they do arise. For example, if you do find an extra fifteen minutes while the baby is sleeping, try to read one chapter of that novel that’s been collecting dust from three Christmases ago instead of folding the underwear. Who does that anyways? Maybe it’s also about the mindset of making more effective choices, like ten minutes in God’s word instead of two hours watching a movie you’ve seen before.
Some of you might be reading and thinking, “This all sounds very selfish and not at all Christ-like.” The truth is that God wants you to rest and to refuel your gas tank. He wants you to use your God-given gifts and talents, which require you taking time out for yourself to work on those things. As moms, we often focus on our family’s needs ahead of our own. Unfortunately, it is frequently at the expense of our own prosperity and development. In truth, it seems selfish NOT to take time out to refuel because everyone benefits in the end once you do occasionally put yourself first. Let’s take some time out to sharpen the saw.
What about yourself in the midst of this whirlwind of demands. What do you love to do? Have you made time to bless yourself with a little bit of tender loving care? The truth is that our cars run better if they’re full of gas, not just running on fumes. We all know that truth for our cars, but we infrequently apply it to our own lives. When the car literally runs out of gas, it ceases to run. We don’t want to wait for that drastic result in our own lives. I want to encourage you and myself to take time out for ourselves. Maybe it’s just an extra five minutes at the gym to stretch and meditate on God’s quiet voice. Is it that haircut or facial you’ve been putting off for months and months? For me, it’s a massage certificate I’ve had sitting in my kitchen drawer for over two years now. It would have been better if it actually had an expiration date written on it. It could be as simple as a ten minute phone call with that college roommate you’ve needed to touch base with. Maybe it’s just a quiet walk, just you and your MP3 player.
If we don’t refill our tanks, we pay a high price. When we run on fumes, we’re still running, but we’re less effective and less joyful. Think of the woman you could be at completing life’s thousands of tasks if you took a little bit more time for yourself. Five minutes here or ten minutes there might seem irrelevant or insignificant, but in the long run, a changed mindset will help us to take advantage of the opportunities when they do arise. For example, if you do find an extra fifteen minutes while the baby is sleeping, try to read one chapter of that novel that’s been collecting dust from three Christmases ago instead of folding the underwear. Who does that anyways? Maybe it’s also about the mindset of making more effective choices, like ten minutes in God’s word instead of two hours watching a movie you’ve seen before.
Some of you might be reading and thinking, “This all sounds very selfish and not at all Christ-like.” The truth is that God wants you to rest and to refuel your gas tank. He wants you to use your God-given gifts and talents, which require you taking time out for yourself to work on those things. As moms, we often focus on our family’s needs ahead of our own. Unfortunately, it is frequently at the expense of our own prosperity and development. In truth, it seems selfish NOT to take time out to refuel because everyone benefits in the end once you do occasionally put yourself first. Let’s take some time out to sharpen the saw.
Project Chaos
Some days start and finish in defeat. The sun comes up and smiles upon you just the same as any other day, but the score has already been set and you’re definitely predetermined for a loss. Well, that’s how it feels sometimes as a mom. A few of those days occurred for me and our family recently.
It was a day just like any other, except that we were potty training our second child, who was almost three. She was in her booster chair when I heard a dripping noise, which later became obvious as urine spilling onto the tile floor of our kitchen. I nonchalantly got the cleaning supplies responding fairly rationally of the incident since accidents do happen after all.
However, while I sat kneeling on the floor cleaning up my daughter’s urine, I heard a noise in the bathroom. To my somewhat surprised eyes, I found the same daughter in the bathroom eating alcohol-filled soap. With feelings of frustration and defeat welling up inside, I cleaned my daughter up and planned to continue disinfecting the kitchen floor. For a brief moment, I literally thought about how the day could not get any worse. However, this was the wrong thought to have, for it was as if fate overheard my reflection and challenged it. Upon exiting the bathroom, horror filled my vision as I looked upon my content but litter-covered baby playing in the poop-filled cat box next to the busted down baby gate. It was bath-time.
Jump ahead about six months to another out-of-control day. My three kids and I happily played during this seemingly peaceful spring morning. No-one could see the dark cloud of defeat looming in the distance. A few Easter egg hunts were successfully exchanged between me and the kids. Then, some very tranquil and happy play was had outside in the backyard. The baby was sleeping peacefully. Then, to my bewilderment, I opened the screen door to check on my two older children. To my horror, I found our three-year-old with a glass starfish up to her mouth with one leg missing. She answered affirmatively when I asked her if she’d eaten it, so my next step was to call 911.
After a short discussion with the dispatcher, it became obvious that the paramedics would need to visit our home. After a short visit with them, it was deemed necessary to take our daughter to the hospital. When she and my husband returned home unscathed after an x-ray which ruled out any obstruction or consumption of lead crystal, we decided to press on with the day. After the hospital, my husband picked up our van that was being worked on in the shop. Don’t you hate car problems?
Still trudging on, everyone was dressed and ready for the twenty-five person photo shoot an hour and a half away. Since we were stuck in traffic and driving with gusto, our carsick baby threw up all over herself, including my new cell phone, which had been given as a hopeful distraction from her early signs of car sickness. We reverted home, gave her a bath, and did actually make it down for the family pictures.
Life can feel like a grammatical run-on sometimes. You want to shorten life’s dramas. You want to add a period, ending the madness, but frequently circumstances don’t allow. I had asked my husband at what point we would be able to cancel our evening plans and he said, “Well, if we blow a tire, then we won’t keep driving down.” It wasn’t very funny to me at the time, but I knew it was an important family event for him and we did end up having a very good time.
It was a day just like any other, except that we were potty training our second child, who was almost three. She was in her booster chair when I heard a dripping noise, which later became obvious as urine spilling onto the tile floor of our kitchen. I nonchalantly got the cleaning supplies responding fairly rationally of the incident since accidents do happen after all.
However, while I sat kneeling on the floor cleaning up my daughter’s urine, I heard a noise in the bathroom. To my somewhat surprised eyes, I found the same daughter in the bathroom eating alcohol-filled soap. With feelings of frustration and defeat welling up inside, I cleaned my daughter up and planned to continue disinfecting the kitchen floor. For a brief moment, I literally thought about how the day could not get any worse. However, this was the wrong thought to have, for it was as if fate overheard my reflection and challenged it. Upon exiting the bathroom, horror filled my vision as I looked upon my content but litter-covered baby playing in the poop-filled cat box next to the busted down baby gate. It was bath-time.
Jump ahead about six months to another out-of-control day. My three kids and I happily played during this seemingly peaceful spring morning. No-one could see the dark cloud of defeat looming in the distance. A few Easter egg hunts were successfully exchanged between me and the kids. Then, some very tranquil and happy play was had outside in the backyard. The baby was sleeping peacefully. Then, to my bewilderment, I opened the screen door to check on my two older children. To my horror, I found our three-year-old with a glass starfish up to her mouth with one leg missing. She answered affirmatively when I asked her if she’d eaten it, so my next step was to call 911.
After a short discussion with the dispatcher, it became obvious that the paramedics would need to visit our home. After a short visit with them, it was deemed necessary to take our daughter to the hospital. When she and my husband returned home unscathed after an x-ray which ruled out any obstruction or consumption of lead crystal, we decided to press on with the day. After the hospital, my husband picked up our van that was being worked on in the shop. Don’t you hate car problems?
Still trudging on, everyone was dressed and ready for the twenty-five person photo shoot an hour and a half away. Since we were stuck in traffic and driving with gusto, our carsick baby threw up all over herself, including my new cell phone, which had been given as a hopeful distraction from her early signs of car sickness. We reverted home, gave her a bath, and did actually make it down for the family pictures.
Life can feel like a grammatical run-on sometimes. You want to shorten life’s dramas. You want to add a period, ending the madness, but frequently circumstances don’t allow. I had asked my husband at what point we would be able to cancel our evening plans and he said, “Well, if we blow a tire, then we won’t keep driving down.” It wasn’t very funny to me at the time, but I knew it was an important family event for him and we did end up having a very good time.
Labels: motherhood
