He Makes Me Lie Down in Green Pastures

Being a stay at home wife and mother is hard work for many reasons.  That doesn't mean that working outside the home isn't hard, or maybe harder because you (moms, and maybe some dads) are working outside the home and also have to do all the things many stay at home moms do.  But it doesn't mean my job isn't hard.

I  am typically on the go doing something for someone every day.  I'm taxiing people, running errands for my husband or my kids or my family or my neighbors or my friends.  There is a common misconception among people that we stay at home moms have tons of time on our hands, so they are always asking us to do stuff  PLUS, I'm a doer and a server (and an enormous people pleasure), and I find it difficult to say no at times.

Plus, when you are a stay at home wife and mom, there are expectations about the cleanliness of your home and the quality of the meals you cook.  I mean, you're at home all day.  You should have a super clean house, no dirty clothes and a hot gourmet meal on the table, right?

Stay at home moms are supposed to either be homeschooling their kids or volunteering often at their kid's schools, providing snacks at all sporting events, running the booster club, and anything else that might come up related to their kids' interests.

We should be thin from all the time we have to workout.  We should be rested and ready (wink) for our husbands because of all the free time we have on our hands each day.

And we should have figured out how to have a 6 figure income (okay, well at least a 5 figure income) by some incredible stay at home job as well.

Right?

But just for the record, these are my expectations of myself.  I'm sure there are SOME people out there who might also have these expectations of we stay at home moms, but for the most part, I have the greatest expectations of myself.

I think it is because with a personality type like mine, I want to be sure I'm contributing, that I'm pulling my weight.  Honestly, it's why I started selling Thirty One.  And though I love the product (I DO!) and love what I'm doing for myself and for other families, I started doing it because I wanted to feel like I was contributing to my family.

But man, Satan can sure use all of that against me at times.  It's not that I want to be super mom.  I don't.  Or super wife (just ask Ray, HA!)  But I want to know that I am helping my family in every way I can. It's finding the balance that is difficult.

So I'm spending some time at the feet of Jesus asking Him to help me find balance, to give me direction, to show me my worth through His eyes.

From my side of the fence, maybe I'll sit here in the tall grass of His green pasture for a while.