A while back I heard a sweet mom friend give a talk on the "seasons of our lives". I don't remember what her title was, but it was such a good reminder. Things are always changing and there are different seasons to life. What season are you in? If you think about it and identify your season it may give you some peace. Maybe because you can be thankful for your season. Maybe because it reminds you that it WILL come to an end, or maybe because you can see that God is going to be doing something soon.
If you're a mom with a new baby you're probably in a season of just surviving. You're not going to be doing the same things as a mom in the season with high school kids. If you've had a death in the family, experienced a trauma or loss, life is going to be different for a little while. You can't just go on as normal as you have a season of recovery to go through. If you're in a season with older kids you probably have more personal time than you used to have. That can be an adjustment too!
We just finished our school year and I love looking back on the year and seeing all the different people God has brought into our lives. I think it's fun to reflect on how much things have changed since the school year started. I'm a creature of habit and don't usually like change. I've started looking at each year as it's own season though and that helps me to have peace as we enter a year. This year is a season. We changed home school groups this year and life was very different because of it. My husbands job changed this year. His hours, responsibilities, work load, and even the town he's is are different. It's helping us to remember that this year is adjustment year.
I'm also in a season of life with older elementary school aged children. I'm past the physically exhausting baby and toddler years. It's easier to move around and do things and now we're busy with kid activities and sports. My neighbor who's an empty nester said "You make me miss having kids around! Always something fun to look forward to!" I hadn't thought of it that way, I was just tired from the calendar being so full. It's just a season though. There are things to enjoy about it, so it was good to be reminded of that.
The first part of Psalm 46:10 says "Be still and know that I am God." Another version of it says "Cease striving and know that I am God." I like that version the best. It's such a good reminder to me that I need to relax (cease striving) and look at where God has me right now. It's exhausting to be working at or working for things that aren't in God's plan for me.
I think most moms struggle with loneliness sometimes and being a home school or stay-at-home mom can be even more isolating. If I'm focusing on the people I wish I was able to spend time with or things I wish I could be doing instead, God isn't going to use me to my fullest. It's not all about me after all, it's about Him. Instead, I'm trying to look at the people God has in my path right now. For me, that is through my kids activities because that's the season of life I'm in. The busy one with lots of kids activities. As I'm sitting at swim practice or taking my kids to classes, who is God bringing across my path? I try to spend a lot of time praying about the activities we're in, so if I'm sure we're doing what we're supposed to be doing, then the people we see are there because God had worked that all out.
I recently read "Fervant: A Woman's Battle Plan to Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer" by Pricilla Shirer. Have you read it? It's so good! Here's one of my favorite quotes from the book. "Even activities He gives you to steward are not given to see how many balls you can juggle, but instead so you can participate with Him in staking Kingdom claim on patches of ground where you live." I love this. Here are some synonyms for the word steward: administer, guide, govern, manage, preside over. Time is a limited resource given to me by God and it's up to me to use it well. Not so that I can get lots done but so that I can be used by God in the lives of the people He puts in my path. What season of life are you in? Who is God putting you next to this season? Are you using this time for Him?
