Out of the Mouths of Babes

Hello, ladies!!! It's good to be back! I never dreamed there would be such an unpardonable lapse in updated content, but 2009 kinda started out with insistence, sort of like an impatient child tugging on your shirt sleeve. I keep saying, "Just a minute," "hang on," "I'll be there in a sec," but there the new year and all of its activities and obligations remain, tug-tug-tugging away. Sadly, the women's blog has suffered for it, and perhaps that is why the following devotional spoke to me.

I may have said this before: I'm not really up on my copyright law, seeing as I have four kids and all and I'm, well, sorta busy, but I think if I give full credit to the author I am permitted to reprint this devotional in its entirety. It was written by a woman named Sandy Cooper and is about a shocking wake-up call she received in the form of a story by her young daughter, and the ensuing changes she made in her life as a result. Read it and tell me if you can't relate to her story on some level:

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"Mom, will you please tell me a story?" my eight-year-old daughter asked me recently. It had been one of those insanely packed days, full of errands, chores and activities . . . and it wasn't over yet. My mind strained to keep everything in order for the remaining events we had planned for the evening. I was coordinating our homeless outreach followed by plans to attend my husband's softball game. Kids had to be fed, pottied, properly clothed, and in the right places at the right times. I had to remember to bring supplies, snacks, drinks and driving directions to our various destinations. There was no brain reserve left for creative stories.

"I'm sorry, honey. I can't tell you a story right now. I just have too much on my mind."

"That's okay," she said. "I'll tell you a story. Once upon a time," she began, "there was a very busy mom."

Uh oh. This ought to be interesting . . .

"She woke up every day and she was tired. She made a big pot of coffee and went into her room to pray. She prayed and prayed and prayed . . . but nothing happened. She did the laundry and went to Target and to the grocery store where she spent lots of money. She made dinner and cleaned the house. She went to help the homeless children. At the end of the day, she was still tired so she went to bed. The end."

Wow. I'm like a twisted version of the Proverbs 31 woman, only much less effective.

I managed to fake a smile and kiss my precious daughter on the head as I blinked back tears. Is that really how she sees me? As a tired woman with a futile prayer life? Overwhelmed and overscheduled? I had always taken pride in the fact that I wasn't busy. Years ago I learned to say "no" to activities that ate into our family time. I value simplicity and solitude. I had even taught Bible studies about it! Yet, somehow in the midst of my un-busy life, I managed to get very busy. And now the children were taking notice. This was something I promised myself would never happen.

That night I couldn't sleep (a very rare thing for me ... being as "tired" as I am and all). So at 1:00 am I got up and began journaling. For two hours, I poured out my anxious thoughts to God as I sifted through my schedule to identify where and when things had gone wrong. I listed every activity in which I am currently involved, as well as every household responsibility that was taking up my time. The process was very revealing. I discovered that it wasn't one nasty "culprit" I could quickly cast out of my life, but a series of little culprits to address:

o Mis-managed time--like checking and responding to e-mails over ten times a day
o Commitments which were longer than anticipated--like the freelance job that was supposed to be completed two months ago
o Time management systems I previously put in place, but failed to maintain--like my mail filing system and my "write-everything-on-a-master-list" system
o Piles of clutter in my home--which often left me feeling exasperated because they represented areas of my life that were out of control

That night God helped me identify a few key areas I could immediately cut in order to be less busy. He helped me draw up and prioritize a master list of projects to tackle, as well as new chores to delegate to my children. But mostly that night, He reminded me - for what seems like the millionth time - that my children would only be little for a season. And in comparison to the pages of other tasks and responsibilities I had just written in my journal, my commitment to be a Godly wife and mother stood far above them all.

And then He reminded me that He doesn't view me as some kind of "ministry production machine." Nor does He value me because of what I can accomplish in a day. He cherishes me because I am His daughter. When I remember this, I'm much less inclined to add many things to my plate. Instead, I rest in the peace of knowing who I am in Christ and what He has purposed for me to do and be.
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Wow. Did the little girl's description of her mother's busy life bear any resemblance to your own--or is it just me? (Except that I don't drink coffee!) More importantly, are any of the "quick fixes" that this harried, frazzled mom identified as ways to help free up her time also solutions that could help you simplify your life?

From one busy woman to another, I am always looking for ways to maximize my time in this season of life that seems determined to run me ragged! Ms. Cooper's "culprits" of mis-managed time and piles of clutter were especially significant for me and caused me to renew my dedication to conquering those areas of my life.

How about you? Are you more like the Proverbs 31 woman in Scripture, or in the little girl's story?

"Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

"'Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.'" Proverbs 31:28-29