Avoiding the Burnout Of Motherhood
There is a lot of pressure put on mothers to be supermoms. Some people pour on the guilt if you turn a DVD on for your children so you can try to get some housework done. Others if you aren’t 100% into feeding your child organic foods. Using disposables instead of cloth? Shame on you. You mean you don’t make your own household cleaners? Why, I thought you were a Christian! These feelings of not living up to expectations might be some you put on yourself, or others might truly be making you feel this way.
We need to step back and give grace to ourselves and to others. Sometimes it’s ok to let our husbands know we need a break, that we are struggling. When you pour juice out of a pitcher, at some point there’s none left to pour. If we give and give without ever refueling ourselves, we will run dry. Let me say that one more time for emphasis –Â If we give and give without ever refueling ourselves, WE WILL RUN DRY.
What a blessing this post is. I am so easily pulled there. Currently pregnant with number four after having Diastasis Recti and an umbilical hernia following our third. Pregnancy is more uncomfortable this time around and we no longer have the babysitters available we did before due to unforeseen circumstances, and I decided to gradually get back into playing music more (I was a professional musician prior to motherhood). What with homeschooling and everyday life I sometimes struggle just to survive, or at least that’s how it feels. Prayer and scripture definitely helps. I’ve also found that asking others for prayer, even though it’s sometimes hard to admit my need to them, has helped tremendously. I also am trying to make room for doing something creative daily, even with my kids the stress relief of being creative instead of just the mundane chore list tackling is a real mood booster for me.
Thank you again for reminding the rest of us that we’re not the only ones who feel less than perfect at motherhood and homemaking, and may God continue to bless your family and ministry through your blogging.
Sarah