Need "ME" Time?

Being a wife and mother is time consuming and can be exhausting. However, as a Christian mother my strength comes from the Lord. He will never give me more than I can bare, as He is the one carrying my load.

Taking time for ourselves is great, as long as it doesn't become an issue of entitlement. We serve the Lord each and every day and we don't need rest from that. Tending to my house, my husband's needs, and my children's needs, is service to the Lord. So, when we refocus "why" we do what we do, then the exhaustion is so much more worth it. I am a Godly wife and mother, not because of some special super power that I have, or because my husband is always perfect and my kids are always obedient, but because I seek to please the Lord and bring Glory to Him.

So each day I have to check myself on "why" am I becoming frustrated over the smallest things? Is it because I feel entitled to "alone time"? If this is the case then I am not being more "holy" by taking time for myself, but actually I am being selfish because I feel I have earned the break.

With keeping my focus on serving the Lord as the Bible tells us to do all things unto Christ, then that means I have to "die to myself daily", so that the spirit of selfishness doesn't rise up.

Serving the Lord is a lifetime service, and we are not told to rest from that. If I can endure to the end, then my husband will be blessed as well as my children.

The "me" time that I get comes if "I" make the effort to get up before everyone else (the butt crack of dawn) and have my time with the Lord. That is the "me" time that I really need as Jesus is the only one who can renew my spirit and refresh my strength for the coming day.

We see this in Proverbs 31. This devoted wife and mother got up way before her family did and she went to bed well after her family was asleep. In the entire chapter we don't hear of her needing "me time". My rest comes from the Lord, and I do need to be realistic about the tasks that I can get done in one day.

Getting the proper amount of sleep at night is a start and can be considered "me time". However, we all know a mother's work is never done, just as a father's work is never done. Think of the burden husband's and father's carry by being the sole bread winner. They are at work for 8 hours a day and then come home to a completely different job. So in my opinion, husband's and father's have a bigger responsibility than we do. I do my best to make sure that our house is in order so that my husband can come home and relax and enjoy his family.

The message that Christ gives us each time is one of selfless service. He made sure He made time to pray to the Father for the strength and encouragement for the task that awaited Him. Now, none of us will ever have the task of being crucified for a sinful world, so what are we complaining about? Yes Christ did have "alone" time, but it wasn't for selfish reasons. He knew the importance of doing the will of the Father. Not once during his beatings did He ask for a "time out". In fact, He didn't udder a single word! I am sure His service to us was more energy draining and painful than any service we do for our husband and children.

So when we begin to want a pity party for all the hard work we do, we need to look back at the cross and compare our work to Christ's work. Putting things in a Biblical perspective will keep our heart's attitude and our motivations pure and Christ-centered. And technically our true rest won't come until we are in the presence of the Lord. So, let's seek the Lord for the strength to keep running this race of faith. Let us set our sights on Christ and worry about resting when we are with Him for eternity. Christ is sufficient for all our needs. I know that may sound silly, however scripture doesn't lie.

I am by no means perfect. I have my down days, where I am just so exhausted. That exhaustion seems to be more frequent since I am pregnant. However, that is no excuse to give up and check out. Even as a pregnant Christian wife and mother I still have tasks that need to get done. One thing that has helped me is asking for help. First, I ask the Lord for strength and the ability to endure. Then I ask my husband to help me with tasks I know I can't do alone. I also know that I can call on the ladies of our church for help as well.

"Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."" Luke 9:62

Asking for help does not mean you have given up or that you are not as strong as you thought you were. In fact, a super mom WILL ask for help. It is another virtue that I think all Christian wives and mother's need...humility. We need to humble ourselves before the Lord and recognize that we can't do anything apart from Him. A wise Christian wife and mother will depend solely on the Lord for all things.

So, in closing, I pray that if you are struggling right now with self doubt or pity, refocus by going before the Lord and asking Him for help. Rely on Him for the strength and endurance you need to be a Godly wife and mother.

Serving God and My Family,
Crystal <>< (SAHM)

James Chapter 1

“1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.

2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 9 But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; 10 and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. 12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

19 This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. 22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”