{Photo credit here.}
The following is a guest post I wrote for Lifechurch.tv’s Church Online Blog.
The last week or so has been draining for some reason. As I look back through my journal I see lots of question marks, where I have talked to God, trying to figure out what is causing the turmoil in my life. I am lacking energy. I am lacking drive. I am lacking creativity. Colors seem duller. Normal weekly challenges seem like mountains. I don’t feel like doing any of the things that I typically find enjoyable. I feel like I’m just going through the motions, waiting for the unexplainable fog to lift from my life… {continue reading}
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Mandy, You have four kids under five. The question is why isn’t every single day hard and tiring and leaving you exhausted? Really, you do an amazing job as their mother and if you get to the end of your rope sometimes, it is certainly understandable! Just the fact that you do everything you are doing is amazing. And needing some time for yourself isn’t selfish, it’s what keeps you from being tired and exhausted and depressed every single day. Really. When you aren’t feeling yourself, take as much time as you can for a day or two and “waste” it. That is right, take baths, read, watch movies, eat, whatever. (I know this might amount to like an hour, but still, waste it on purpose.) I think you’ll feel better afterwards and return to normal things you like. Sometimes we need gaps. Love to you.
Thanks so much for the encouragement Karen. I have come to value “me time” much more than ever before and to attempt to carve it out. Some weeks are easier to do this than others though. I do appreciate the reminder though (she says as she sits sipping on a rewarding vanilla coke and a bowl of doritos which are her reward for pushing through a tough week.
This is such a great post, Mandy! We’ve been in a funk lately, too. Nothing major, just lots of little things that seem to be stealing my joy. But then I think, if I could just have joy and get out of this funk, I wouldn’t let all those little things bother me. I would have to agree with Karen. I don’t know how you do it, really! I sometimes read what Paul wrote about having joy through suffering and wonder if he was super-human. I also wonder if he’s just a writer who wrote about his ideals, or looked back at his life and was able to see how God was working. It is always so much easier to see God when looking at the past and sometimes a little harder to see through the current fogs. I also read this post recently: http://stuffchristianslike.net/2010/03/2443/ and the end is similar to yours. You might like it, too.
Thanks Cori. I agree, hindsight is much easier. Thanks for the link.