Priorities
I have to admit there are days when I wish I had the house to myself to sleep in, take a long bath, read, and write. Then I think . . . what would I have to write about???
Kids have deepened me. They’ve shown me how to love deeper and give more. I’ve also learned how to be patient, watch my tongue, and not become overwhelmed by emotions on days I just want to hide away with a half-gallon of ice cream and have a good cry.
They’re a lot of work, but now that my oldest is eighteen, I realize how quickly the time goes.
"How do I set my priorities when all things seem equally important and/or urgent? While our children were living at home, their needs came first," says author Elizabeth Lowell. "After all, they didn't ask to be born. We asked for them. For me, that meant writing part-time around the kids' schedules."
Your priority may not be writing, but I'm sure there are those things in you life that make you think, "I wish I could have more time to . . . "
Hopefully, I’ll be writing for the next forty years. And over that time period you'll have time for some of those longed-for interests too.
So enjoy that important time you spend "just for you" . . . but enjoy the kids more.
posted by Tricia Goyer @ 9:49 AM
4 Comments:
Thanks for this, Tricia. I've been a little bummed in the last couple of days because I can't attend a conference I really, really want to be at - one that would help grow my business.
Yet at the same time, I know in my heart I am "supposed" to be here at home with my kids. That sense was especially sharp yesterday as I was helping my 2yo with an arts & crafts project - not the kind of thing I normally do or even enjoy, but something he was really into. And I realized I would've missed it had I been living it up at this conference.
I still miss being there, and it's hard to have one foot at home and the other in the freelance world, but I feel I'm being prepared for more... and to do that "more" I need to help prepare my kids for it, too.
Thanks!!! That is just what I needed to hear right now. God Bless you and for listening to God! Kim
Christa, I'm with you! I feel torn in two directions. The thing that helps me most is seeking God daily and asking where He wants me. Sometimes it's in the "writing world" and sometimes it's at home. The important thing is to be present and peaceful wherever that is. And ... to realize that the most important place to be is the place GOd puts you.
That's a good perspective - asking for help daily. I tend to think in terms of the "big picture" (in everything) rather than the day-to-day, detail-oriented stuff. Thanks for the reminder!
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