My day starts at 4:30 am. Spend time with God, Workout (sometimes because let’s be honest here), shower, and get ready for work before the kids wake up, wake the kids up, dogs out, kids dressed, breakfast, brush teeth, pack lunches, backpacks together, out the door, school/work all day, after school activities, homework, dinner, baths, brush teeth, aannnnddd then the kids in bed. Now, to all of my working moms this is where all of the fun starts. After the kids go to bed, we have some choices to make. Sit down with the quiet and the newest Grey’s episode orrrr, fill the dishwasher, laundry, grocery shop, clean the floors, clean the bathrooms, etc. This list really goes on and on. Just to repeat it all over the next day. And if I pick the first option, then well you can just move all of the second option things to the Saturday schedule. Being a working mom is crazy. Every single Mom is a superhero. I personally relate to a working Mom’s schedule because it is all I have ever known. But what I have also always known is the working Mom’s guilt. Working moms know it well. The guilt that comes with passing my children off to another person to spend 8 hours a day with while I go to my job. The guilt that comes with missing their firsts, not having that lunch time date, or being the one there when they wake up from their naps.
"I personally relate to a working Mom’s schedule because it is all I have ever known. But what I have also always known is the working Mom’s guilt."
For most working Moms, including myself, staying home is not an option. Most family's economic status demands that 2nd income. If Sallie Mae would just stop demanding their money from me and clear all of my student loans, I would absolutely kick this job to the curb, but that’s not how it works I suppose. It has taken me many seasons of life to be content with where God has my family at this time.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Coming to the understanding that this is the plan that God has for our family has given me the peace I need to excel with where He has put me. I can look back on the road that my family has traveled through church planting and see the tremendous way that God has worked my career for good in very incredible ways that could only have happened through Him, gratefully, never giving me the opportunity to boast in it. What He has also blessed us with through these plans for our family, is amazing friends who come alongside us and love our babies as their own in their homes daily. Seeing His plan in play was a game changer for Jason and I and it wasn’t until then that I could truly appreciate where He had us and could begin serving Him faithfully through that.
We as moms have to cut ourselves some slack and just do the very best we can do. You are not perfect. If you miss that school party, It. Is. Ok. We can not be everything for our children, even though we so badly want to be, because we will constantly fail them. Once we accept that we are not Jesus and cannot be Him, then we can accept that there is someone who will never fail them and then we can fully trust our children and His plan. What an amazing opportunity to pour out that example of Christ on to our children. Do the absolute best that you can for your children mamas and allow God to take care of the rest. As long as we are honoring Him and glorifying Him in all that we do, it will always be enough.
“May he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.” Hebrews 13:21
It is also important to know that you don’t have to walk this road alone. The reason I wake up at 4:30 am every morning is because that is lit-er-a-lly the only peace and quiet I will find in the day to spend soaking in my time with God before I pass out at the end of the day. That time for me is crucial and would drastically change the tone for my crazy day if I didn’t take the time to give Him my day and schedule first. There are two very amazing apps that make spending time with Him so easy and rewarding. The She Reads Truth app and the First 5 app are two very easy apps that will guide you in an amazing time with God. I highly recommend downloading one or both of them today! Ladies, do not try and handle your days on your own. Let Him have your very first moments and thoughts and truly see how amazing it can be in setting the tone for the rest of your day.
Also ladies, find some women who simply get it! I cannot say this enough. Surround yourself with full time working moms who are in your same season and exact same walk of life. I have been blessed with some amazing friendships throughout the years and some of the best ones have been the women who are living the same life I am. They get it. They get the crazy schedule demands, the struggle of the guilt, and there is nothing better than having that tribe who can relate. Find them and hold them close ladies! These ladies can be the biggest blessing from God.
"Remember that this right here, this season you are in, is a call from God and He will finish the work in you, giving you every single thing you (and your babies) need and even a little extra."
No matter where you are or how you spend your day, serve Him to the best of your ability, giving all honor and glory to Him. Remember that this right here, this season you are in, is a call from God and He will finish the work in you, giving you every single thing you (and your babies) need and even a little extra. I’m rooting for you. You’ve got this, you are doing an incredible job, and you are enough!
Written by Ava Coache,
Pastors Wife, Career Women and Rockstar Mom
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