There are moments in everyone’s life when God calls us to a deeper level of humility….
Things have been pretty busy here. School and the Brain Balance Program for Daniel both started at about the same time, my home business is moving along, and the rest of the household still needs to be run. I’ve already seen improvement in Daniel from doing Brain Balance; however, it’s been a little more intensive than I anticipated. 3 hours a day may not seem like a lot at a glance, but when you add in everything else plus the varying needs of one’s children at any given notice, it can get overloaded.
On top of that, my three older children stopped taking naps this summer. That may not seem like a huge deal. …but it is. My introverted personality needs that down time, and afternoon downtime is a bit different than evening downtime. Needless to say, I’ve pretty much been running in survival mode the last few months.
In all of this, I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I’m being taught a lesson in humility. I’ve always been one to say, “I’ll just do it myself.” You know… I can’t do it all myself, and that’s okay.
So what can I do? Well, to be completely honest, I’m still working on that. However, the first thing I need to keep in mind is to always put my trust in God. …and not just when things are really bad or really good. I need to make it a perpetual habit.
I also need to be willing to except help from others. I don’t know about you, but this is something I really struggle with. I’m the type of person who will be at your doorstep with a hot meal if I can… meaning, if I have the van that day. This is something that truly gives so much joy to my heart! However, my pride keeps me from allowing others to experience that same joy, when I don’t ask for help.
I really came to terms with this the other night. We were at our couple’s group and had some time where we split off – men in one area of the house, and the women in another. We used this time to share with each other our low points, our high points, and any prayer intentions that we had. I was able to share with these other women where I was struggling, and accept the help they had to offer. It can be really difficult to say yes when someone offers to watch your kids for a few hours so you can get some things done, or even to just go and be alone for a while. But it’s okay.
I wrote a post a few months ago on the need for community. This is something that I’ve strongly desired in my own life. Part of community is helping one another out… It’s being able to give to others, but also to receive from others.
Another thing that I’ve been really struggling with is homeschooling. I strongly value homeschooling. I never thought I’d ever send my kids to school (unless they wanted to for sports in high school). However, I’m coming to terms with the fact that it may be in the best interest of my 3 and 4 year old to send them to preschool this year. This isn’t set in stone yet, but I am in the works of filling out a preschool application. Who knows…. this may just be for a season while we get Daniel the help he needs, or we may continue to send them to school.
God gives us these lesson throughout our life. I know that what I go through today may help or provide encouragement for someone tomorrow.
If this has encouraged you in any way, please let me know in the comments.
Also, feel free to share what God is teaching you today… who knows, your comment may encourage someone else who’s struggling. 🙂
♥ Nicole
What a fabulous post. One quick thing is that most preschools operate quite differently than public schools which are run by our government. This is a good thing and might prove beneficial to your children and yourself. Then on a different note, I will say (confess) that when I make mistakes which I do just as any other human, I beat myself up like no one else would think of. I know God is using those mistakes to teach me a lesson, but it would sure be a lot more pleasant if learning lessons was more like picking flowers than like falling on gravel. There, it’s out there now. Thank you for letting me share.
Thank you! And thank you so much for sharing! I totally agree. I tend to beat myself up as well, but you’re right, God is teaching us wonderful lessons through each mistake that have the potential to bring us closer to Him.