Whens the last time you just let it all go and did nothing? We stand in our home, drinking our coffee and look around at all that needs to be done. We leave each morning to go to work, coming home and finishing all that needs to be done before bed. It is almost as though our brains are on autopilot with "Work Work Work!"I must say, my home use to be so clean you could eat off the floor. I was always cleaning, always moving, always teaching, and always on the run. I would help out with our children's sports teams, be involved in much at church, and the summer? Well, I worked throughout out the whole summer giving and helping in various ways, that I soon realized I was missing out on much more than I was doing. We get so involved in the things around us, in pleasing others, and none stop work that we don't take the time to enjoy each minute given.
Yes, I know we must work, but must we work all the time? Even when we have punched out for the day, we come home and find more and more on that to do list. That list will always be there no matter how much we get accomplished, there will be more tomorrow, so why not just stop and enjoy the sun for a while?
After raising five children, you get used to being on the move none stop, but there are those times in which we just need to stop. Let the music play, pack up that car, get that lunch ready, grab those games, and jump in the car! Don't let your days be so busy you forget how to smile, forget how to let loose and laugh, and enjoy those around you.
I am learning to just grab that glass of ice tea, grab my book, and go out onto the deck and enjoy the sun. Stress? We can all find stress in that to do list. And we can get so caught up in that list, that we can begin to stress those out around us. I remember while the kids would be playing, and I would stop dead in my tracks and say, "I just cleaned that!" I would get so upset because as I went from room to room cleaning, they went room to room making it a disaster!
I think I know where I got this little problem from. My mom. Yes, when I was little she would make my bed and I wasn't allowed to get back on it. She would clean my room and I wasn't allowed to play in it! Really, let me tell you it made it hard for this little girl that just wanted to play. I caught myself doing the same thing as my mother, until one day I just let it all go. I gave in to that call of "Perfection". My home did not have to look perfect. My kids did not have to look perfect, and we could make a mess and clean it up later!
What joy there is in baking some cookies, going outside for the whole day, making mud pies, playing catch, and driving those trucks through the mud! When you see the clouds coming, and the rain begins to sprinkle, take off those shoes and just splash around taking the hand of your child, and just enjoy the love!
Our children grow so very fast. For those of you who just have babies now, you think these crying nights will never pass, and those dirty diapers will never end, but one day will come where your little one is off to school, and before you know it that time has passed and they now are beginning their lives with another, having children of their own.
Each moment we have is a gift. Each laugh, each story, each puzzle, each book, each butterfly kiss, each toy, each hug, each tear dried away is a gift in time. Are you so busy you are missing out on these gifts? Are you pushing away all else to just get the job done? Even in our job we are doing, we can find pure, sweet joy, if just let go.
Remember when you were a kid and you wanted to stay outside all day? I could ride my bike none stop all day, come home for dinner, and go right back out again to walk along the river, catching frogs. Kids know how to play. They know how to feel joy. So when is it that we begin to lose that feeling? When we allow the stress of this world to take over, that's when. When we worry, and we are tense those around us can feel it. Is anything of this world really that important?
I know when my husband was working at his last job, he would do his work and come home. There were men he worked with that would work every last bit of overtime there was and why? So they could gain more. But the more they were gaining, the more they were losing. It can happen in a blink of an eye.
Please don't misunderstand me. There is nothing wrong with work and working hard, but when we choose that time over time with our family then it is wrong. We can all get caught up in working and serving. There was a time when each day of the week was taken for me. I was teaching Sunday School, Awana, coaching, and many other activities throughout the week, and what happened was I just got burned out. My serving became more of a chore than giving. I was not enjoying each moment any longer. I was trying to hang on to each minute, but my minutes were all taken. I hated to let go, because I really loved what I was doing, but it was more than I could handle. I lost myself in all I was doing, and the major thing is I lost out on time with my family. Although my family was with me most of the time I was involved in so much, it wasn't quality time spent together.
I have learned to just enjoy, to relax, and when things get just a bit to over run I grab my glass of tea and take those moments and just soak up the Son. He too wants our time, and we can place Him on a shelf also when we are too busy in ourselves.
Learning to let go can be hard, but through letting go, you will enjoy life and the sweetness of all the Lord has given. Whether its time with your husband, your wife, your children, your parents or friends, that time spent together will enrich your life. When we take time with others we feel those blessings, and that time away from whatever we are doing, gives us an energy we never knew was there. Just by getting away and relaxing, you feel better, you are refreshed and renewed. What is it you can let go of today, and just relax for a while?
Those sweet little toes are only gonna stay small for a little while. Daddies girl is gonna soon wear make up,and go on that first date. Mamma's little boy will soon put away those little cars and trucks for real ones, and find his own way. Let it all go today, and just enjoy those babies at your feet.
You know that little time out seat you have for your child? Make one for yourself and take that time and enjoy life for just a moment!
