on humility & time management
It’s Monday, and the school year is fast approaching. I am excited for it! Last school year when Matthew was four, I viewed it as my ‘preparation year’ for homeschooling. The year I’d take to develop the self-discipline to homeschool and to figure out how to weave it into our family’s busy life and to try out some different teaching techniques. It was a wonderful year and a great learning experience for me. I feel so drawn to homeschool for our children, for our family—but along with many other moms, I’ve asked myself, “but how?? How can I find the time in my already busy life to do this?” Here are a couple of things that are helping me. I hope that maybe they are helpful you too.
It’s okay to say ‘no.’ I have often struggled with being a ‘yes’ person. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. My heart is willing. I genuinely care deeply about people and good things. But the reality is my physical strength is often less than the energy required to do everything I desire to do! A while back on my Instagram feed, I posted a quote:
“If life and its rushed pace and many stresses have made it difficult for you to feel like rejoicing, then perhaps now is a good time to refocus on what matters most.”
A beautiful and wise homeschooling Instagram friend made a profound comment on my post: ”Amen! When I started homeschooling, the Lord made it clear to me that educating my children was my ministry. It seems simple, but that realization made my focus very clear, and gave me the freedom to say “no” to things I really couldn’t spend my time on. Homeschooling four children and keeping my home running was enough for that season.” (Robin)
Her seemingly insignificant comment was a game-changer for me personally (thank you, Robin)! I realized I didn’t have to do it all and that it actually is okay to say no! During the last year as I have tried to be wise and prayerful in the things I do, I found myself saying ‘no” to some things and I also found myself asking the question “how can I simplify this?” Doing these two things helped me catch the vision: homeschooling is in the realm of possibility for me as long as I’m deliberate in how I live my life.
In God’s great work, He will help you when you humbly ask Him for help. I feel there is no greater work I can do than to raise my children with love and to help guide them and teach them in the way God wants me to do. Motherhood is a sacred calling. And yet, in the daily work and sometimes frustrating moments of daily life, that truth can somehow be easy to forget. And I find myself yearning to be better. Yearning to be more like my own sweet mother; yearning to be a more Christlike woman. And admittedly I fall miserably short. In fact, last night I went to bed feeling a bit frustrated with myself. I awoke this morning with these words on my mind: “You need to ask to know what and how to improve.” Aha! I already know I can pray—but I think one important element to making prayer more meaningful is to ask the right questions. And so, this morning I asked “Father, what can I do better? How can I work smarter?” And then the idea came to write this post (maybe mostly catharsis) as well as a couple of other things.
I think we can have a lot more strength when we ask God what specifically He wants us to improve in our lives. Doing so is a humbling experience—but I believe as we are humble before God, He blesses us with added strength.
I often recite this to myself when I’m feeling overwhelmed:
“The major work of the world is not done by geniuses. It is done by ordinary people, with balance in their lives, who have learned to work in an extraordinary manner. ”
Life balance. Doing my work in an extraordinary manner. All ideas I have running through my head today. I know God blesses us with insight and strength and an even greater portion of His grace when we humbly ask for it and do our best to follow through with the answers we receive.
And so I begin my week! Hoping yours is a lovely one, friends. xo