Rescue from an Exhausting Life

Are you exhausted from the accumulation of wife and mom duties, work, social activities, and the stress of trying to do it all?

A recent stumble up the stairs, spilling everything out of my arms, made me realize the importance of freeing up my arms and my agenda. Days earlier, I watered yet again the flowers my son gave me for Mother’s Day, picking at the browning blooms. My thoughts drifted as I recalled an earlier conversation with my husband about a strategy farms and gardening stores employ to sell their blooms.

To boost production at the farm, they spray a chemical on the plants to quicken the root growth, sending the roots deeper and the stems shooting skyward. Once the plant arrives at the gardening store, it’s sprayed again to bloom beautifully, more so than if it blossomed naturally, so it’s appealing to the customer’s eye. After the plant is purchased and planted, it never blooms like that again because it was never meant to produce so many blooms at a time.

I thought of my recent schedule, filled with a new job, the kids’ activities, my own activities, and all the responsibilities of running a household. Exhaustion settled over me like a summer thunderstorm threatening to destroy our crops. I felt like my little plant, trying to bloom everywhere at once, but my blooms were dying quicker than a greased pig trampling a field of collard greens.

Every woman feels the pressure to perform, to be the best or do the most, or to say yes every time she’s asked to do something. We try to balance everything so carefully, but taking on that one extra thing can send everything else crashing down around us.

Like the chemicals sprayed on the plants, we can absorb toxins for a short time, and we’ll appear beautiful to those looking at us. But we cannot bloom everywhere at once for long. Before we know it, our stems are sagging, heavy with the weight of trying to send energy and nutrients in too many directions.

If you’re an exhausted woman, run ragged from the pressures of your sagging schedule, then you’re in the right place. Acknowledging our weaknesses is the beginning of change.

Here are three areas we need to protect by not doing it all, and where to start prioritizing so we can do our best for the One who loves us the most:

1. Family. I knew I was going to lose my family or my mind if I kept up my harried pace. Being pulled in too many directions was harmful because I was just too busy to spend quality time with the family God has given me. Our families don’t want or deserve our leftovers, and they’re the first to suffer when we decide to “do it all.” Make a point of focusing on your family this week, perhaps by having a fun game night with them.
2. The future. My kids are big noticers of life, so they don’t miss a thing when Mama is stressed because she’s taking on too much. What kind of message are we sending our families when we try to do it all? Will they grow up thinking their worth lies in their agenda? Will they live with anxiety trying to fill their lives even fuller? Make a point this week to say no—or at least “not right now”—to anything that makes your current schedule too busy.
3. Faith. When we overfill our schedules, the first thing to go is often our sacred alone time with Jesus. We weren’t created to be so busy that we forget our Creator and his example of rest. Make a point this week to strengthen your relationship with him by carving out those quiet times, delving into the Bible, and soaking up its truths.

Psalm 18:19 says, “He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me” (NIV). Do you have a spacious place where you can get away from the demands of a busy life? Where can you clear your mind, spend time with the Lord, and identify the priorities in your life? If you don’t have a place like that, I encourage you to ask God to give you an open space. He will rescue you from the burden of a busy schedule because he delights in you.

[Tweet “He’s the only one who can give us the nourishment, nutrients, and rest we desperately need.”]

Amanda Wells is the proud wife of a smokin’ hot third generation farmer, and they have taken Psalm 127:5 literally, raising their quiverful of six kids on the farm. She loves baking, reading, writing, and arithmetic (kidding!). Amanda writes about faith, homeschooling on the farm, and family life at farmwyfe.com.

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