It is my pleasure to share this Guest Post, by Lorrie Bridges. Her words are so relevant to what we face as women – the rat race of busyness, balancing life, and living well. Enjoy!
There are three things I’d like to encourage you with today that I wished someone had shared with me in my 20’s and 30’s. Actually, there are more than three…but I will stick to three!
1. Women are far too busy doing tasks and activities they don’t want to do or should be doing.
We have these huge “life” plates that we pile our busyness onto and we can barely consume it or carry it successfully. We make ourselves feel guilty as we robotically serve more upon ourselves for various reasons. I now know how being so overwhelmed with busyness can be a home and heart wrecker.
Take a good long look at what you have on your plate as a young woman.
Do you have free places or spaces in your life?
Are you so busy that you don’t have time to follow through on the things you really want to accomplish?
Are you finishing any tasks?
Decide today to eliminate activities and reprioritize your “life” plate.
Later if you decide to add or say yes to something to your plate, then you have to take something off and say no to another. It’s called balance. Try living like this for a short while and see how much freedom you have with your daily, weekly and monthly activities. Eventually you will find you are not rushing anywhere, wishing you had more time in your day, and are available for the Holy Spirit to use you for ministry for your family, friends and community.
2. Learn to say no.
It goes hand in hand with my primary point. There is a time to say yes when we have prayerfully been given a green light to proceed. Saying no can be so hard and difficult as we sometimes believe God can’t possibly do this task without us. You may be in a season of your life that requires you to say no to opportunities today. That is temporary and future options will still be there for you to say YES tomorrow! Saying no is OK! I wish someone had told me this!
3. Find a mentor and strong role model.
I realize some of you didn’t have an amazing mother and ideal role model as I did for many years. It’s likely that your own mom is deceased or not living near you or involved in your life. Maybe the military life has you moving frequently and it’s impossible to connect at some duty stations.
Pray and ask God for a mentor today.
She is usually the one you’ve already met and admire. She has a smile on her face which reflects inner joy. She is honest and forthcoming about her life and walk with the Lord. She has a balanced life and is available to meet with you. God placed many women mentors in my life in those younger woman years I’m sooooo very thankful for today.
I must remind you, again, how very loved you are by Jesus. Whenever you feel discouraged, always go back to what you know, and that is how much Jesus loves you and how He has your best future outcome in mind. Keep trusting Him and live one day at a time.
The Lord Jesus is not far from you. He is near, so draw near to Him.
For those with teens and pre-teens, here is an excerpt from Lorrie’s Book “Wet Mittens” that will help us navigate tough parenting times. It is just a sliver of the wisdom she shares on parenting, family, marriage and relationships as she retells stories that will have you laughing, crying and sometimes both at the same time 🙂 Thank you Lorrie, for sharing part of this chapter with us
Teens Need Genuine Care and Balance of Parental Talking with Listening.
I have not found one teenager who disagreed that caring and listening to them were absolutely the most important things to them. Sometimes we talk too much as parents. We are desperately trying to impart our wisdom to our children knowing the precious few days we have with them are slipping away.
We don’t really listen to their hearts crying out. We are too busy, too bothered, and too tired from raising them to listen…really listen. I dare you to go ask your teen if caring and listening to them are important to them. Ask if you talk too much and listen too little.
If you take time to do this you will hear and remember that young teen of your earlier years shouting out to be heard and acknowledged. Care enough to listen. Listen and you’ll discover what care is needed.
On the other hand, some parents are afraid to talk to their kids. As teens get older they try to separate themselves from you and try out their own wings. We seem to think it’s okay to not talk to them. I have numerous friends whose teenagers talk to me and not to them! Why is that?! I know facts about my friends’ children that my friends don’t even know or suspect. It really doesn’t need to be that way if you establish the communication line early and don’t let the train get off track.
Here’s an example, my son would be angry about something and say, “I don’t want to talk about it!” “That’s fine,” I’d respond, “but eventually we will talk about it.” When tempers cooled and the emotion from the disappointing baseball game or drama from a junior high friendship had subsided, we would ALWAYS talk. They learned to expect it whether they liked it or not.
Talk, talk, and talk to your kids! The biggest challenge is finding the balance between knowing when to talk and when to zip your mouth shut and STOP talking.
Pray, pray, pray as you navigate these years of childrearing. The rewards are coming to you when one day as it states in Leviticus 19:32 “You shall rise up before the greyheaded and honor the aged and you shall revere your God; I am the Lord.”
Lorrie Bridges is a married mother of three children and seven grandchildren. She is the author of Wet Mittens and lives in Pacific Grove, California with her husband John and adorable Sheltie pup Montana.
