You found a gift on Amazon, but even prime shipping won’t be quick enough. The party is tomorrow! You think you may have time to squeeze in a Target run, but then again, you told Suzy that you’d do pick up today. Ah, there’s my phone. I have to take this call. Goodness, I forgot to defrost the meat. Can you relate? Please say so, because I feel like that is how my week has gone.
Maintaining balance in todays Mama world truly is a gem. There’s just so much grabbing for our attention. So many needs that have to be met. We have the house, the job, the cleaning, the errands. All the while, we are always after being our very best. The best wife. The best Mama. The best employee. The best Christian. It causes a weight sometimes that is too heavy to carry. I’m here to share that this weight will be more manageable, and more easily carried, if we are balanced.
That is what we are going to be talking about today. We wont be diving into what exactly is taking your time, and what you are devoting your days to – but instead we will talk about the balance that is required to manage it all.
A balancing act
If you talk to someone who is busy in motherhood, they sometimes will refer to it as a balancing act. This is actually quite a great analogy. When you are balancing, there’s a few important factors you need to consider in order not to fall.
- We need to plan
I got caught up watching a tightrope walker on TV once share how she gets across without falling. One of the secrets that she shared was that you need to anticipate the wind gusts, and brace yourself prior to them reaching you. This makes perfect sense. You will never survive a tight rope walk if you are caught off guard by a wind gust.
This is so true for us in our Mama balancing act. We need to anticipate what is to come. We need to be planners. We do not need every detail of the week planned out, but we should have the major stuff ironed out before the week begins, including where we need to go and what we need to do to make that happen. Isn’t there that old saying: fail to plan, plan to fail? It’s kind of true. As Mama, you are the house’s headquarters. If you are not prepared, the house isn’t going to function smoothly. You’ll end up searching for that last minute gift, and experience more of those Mom fails.
If you haven’t subscribed, I’ll include that link below. Go ahead and be sure to do that so that you can get your Mama planner. The planner that I created is Mama specific and puts our kids at the top of or week, which is a pretty cool reminder.
2. We need to look forward
Mom guilt is a real thing. We cover this in my new book that’s set to release Mother’s Day 2023. Mama guilt does not need to be present in your life. Mom guilt focuses on the past. This is where we focus on all the things we’ve done wrong that day. Most of the time these statements in our mind start like, “I wish I would have…” or “I shouldn’t have…” Both of these statements are in the past.
If we are going to remain balanced, our eyes need to be forward. It would be really difficult to walk a straight line if you had to do it looking behind you. What would happen then? You’d start to walk off course. You may start off straight, but then you’d inevitably sway to the side you’re stretching. Your eyes direct your focus. We can no longer spend our time thinking and dwelling on the past. We no longer have time for Mom guilt. When we do this, it will always bring us off course and make us unbalanced.
God likes balance, too
God also knows how important balance is to have in our lives. Wouldn’t you believe he actually commands us to be balanced? He knows how important it is, that He wants it to be a part of our lives.
He recognizes that if we do not have balance, the inner-workings of our life will not be effective. We will be scattered, unfocused, and stressed.
A balanced schedule
A schedule that is balanced is one that is admirable to the Lord. It’s one that plans and prepares, so that we minimize the surprises. It’s one that remains looking forward to focus on the opportunities to come.
The key to a balanced schedule is ensuring that it represents what you feel called to do. There are always these Mama convictions that pop up, right?
We should read more together.
I should memorize more verses with them.
We need to be outside playing.
When you are balanced, you’ll be able to go to the library. You will have the time to post the verse on the fridge. You have the flexibility to pencil in some outside play time. You are able to do the convictions God put on your heart.
An unbalanced Mama is disorganized, frantic, short-term, and narrow-minded. She cannot plan for the future. Goodness, she may not even have the Mama convictions because she’s so wrapped up in the day-to-day.
Let’s be balanced Mamas!
Let’s lean in and listen to the Lord’s convictions; planning and looking forward to what He has for us.
