Are there tasks in your life that can be delegated to others? Are you willing to ask your husband and kids for help? Do you need to look outside your home for a helper who can take on some of the things that might be bogging you down?
Another creative solution is to look for a homeschool helper to be the person to whom you are delegating. I found a family of teenaged homeschool girls who were looking to make some extra money. They come help me with whatever chores I can’t get done on my own. They help with laundry, dishes, organizing kids’ rooms, and whatever else I put on their list. I love the help. They love the spending money, and they even earn school credits for home economics. Pray about a creative solution if you are looking for some help. God will hear your prayer and help you know to whom and how to delegate.
Make Peace with the Balance Between Calling and Responsibilities
As moms, we must stop looking around for validation and affirmation of what kind of mother we are to be. We can’t look to our friends. We can’t look to our parents. We can’t look at and compare ourselves to other moms. We must stop looking around and start looking up. God will be faithful to reveal His individual plan for you.
But how do we act on the God-given purposes in our lives and still be attentive, caring wives and mothers? First, we abandon the idea that God has designed life so family is separate from service and that the two must compete. In a speech at the 1997 Women’s Ministries Symposium, Jill Briscoe talked about the fallacy of having a hierarchy of priorities, such as (1) God, (2) husband, (3) children, (4) church, and so on. Instead, she suggested, there’s a hierarchy of principles—"God and his kingdom come first. God will tell you what is front and center today. Are you listening?" If you’re a praying person who listens to God and looks into the hearts of people around you, obeying the first and second commandments to love God and love others (Matthew 22:37-39), you’ll know when to skip the day’s entire to-do list and take your kids to the beach, take yourself to the beach, take your Bible to the beach, or take kids and your neighbor’s lonely, autistic son to the beach...Contrary to what some people may believe, a woman doesn’t have to choose between having a purpose in life and being a faithful and fun-loving mom, wife, and friend. One of the best things we can contribute to the people we love is to be a woman who responds to the call of God. Through us, those we love experience the joy of following God and are often challenged to consider their own God-infused purposes."
A calling on a woman’s life will be unique and personal. God knows your husband better than you. God knows your children better than you. He knows what kind of wife and mom they need. He knows what kind of demands will be required of you in every role you play. So turn each day over to Him and let Him order your steps. Ask Him where to start, take that step, and then ask what is the next step you are to take. All the while pray that your spiritual eyes and ears will be open and attentive to any pit stops along the way God might have for you.
