Puff!
The washing is on, the morning dishes done, the dog walked, physio’s knee exercises done, emails checked and deleted, morning devotions read and prayers said, so now I can start my day.
It seems women are always busy
If you have children, work outside the home or both, then I know from experience, your morning list is much longer. We are busy women. It doesn’t matter what season of life you are in, it seems women are always busy.
Even holidays are hard work!
For most of us Easter is supposed to be a time off from our normal activities. I remember one Easter, planning, preparing food and packing for our family camping trip. That year, the weather was so hot that all the Easter eggs (which were so carefully hidden from sight until Sunday morning) melted. Imagine trying to explain to four- year- old twins why Easter bunny had left them melted eggs! Then when we came home there was unpacking to do, a mountain of washing to tackle, school uniforms to iron and next day’s lunches to fix. I sometimes wondered who had the fun.
Overwhelmed?
In Jessica Turner’s new book Fringe Hours and Brigid Shulte’s 2014 New York Times bestseller Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time, both authors write how women have become so caught up in today’s quest to have and do it all that their bodies, minds, and souls have forgotten how to engage in ‘me time’, self-care and leisure, even when they need it most.
Intimacy and rest!
And I’ll add that in our busyness we have forgotten how to stay intimate with our Heavenly Father. The drive to be the ideal worker or the perfect stay-at-home mum requires extensive multitasking, little sleep and even less downtime for refreshing fun or even a good old nap.
A retreat
Some women are taking time out to nurture themselves. A group of women from Mount Gambier Baptist Church recently went on a retreat weekend to renew their minds, refresh their bodies, connect with each other and spend time in spiritual reflection. Our SA Baptist Women’s team were privileged to lead these women in some ‘me time’.
Maybe you and your local friends need me to run a retreat for you. Email me about it.
Get help
This April is a busy month. There is Easter, Anzac Day and the school holidays. These special calendar events should be leisure but often, just pile on more work. Another author, Elizabeth Gilbert, suggested that women grant one another permission to abandon the role of the perfect woman. Let us let go of what we can and get help with what we can’t. Let us guard our time better and pursue things in life that will help us not just survive, but thrive.