Feeling Overwhelmed?

  

Hello Friends,
  How has your week been?  I've had another whirlwind of a week on this Texas farm.  It has actually been our first cold week this fall which means the children and I have been cooped up inside most of the week.  I love it for the first few days when a cold front blows through and it rains outside, but after a few days I start to feel like we are going stir crazy.  The temps are now warming back up, and I think it will end up being beautiful for awhile before winter really sets in.
  Somehow the dreary weather this week made me feel sluggish, and I felt like I was feeling unmotivated in some areas.  Isn't it funny how the weather can affect our moods and energy levels so much?  In today's post I want to talk about drawing strength from the Lord whenever we do feel tired, discouraged, or overwhelmed.  These are emotions that we all fall into from time to time, and sometimes life is just throwing so much at us that the combined weight of it all can feel crippling.

  I am sure we all have our list of things that overwhelm and stress us.  I have been thinking through what are some of the things that tend to zap our energy and stress us as Mamas, and here are a few things I thought of:

1. Being Too Busy

  It is so easy to fall into the trap of being too busy.  If we look around us at what others are doing, we probably will find ourselves committing our families to too much activity outside of the home which will lead to a frazzled and stressed out life.  I fell into that trap when my children were younger.  At the time I saw many activities through church and the local homeschool group that we could be involved in and I committed to too much.  I am so thankful that the Lord got my attention and showed me that we needed to slow things down and be home more.  He showed me that my top priority needed to be discipling the hearts of my children and that this was going to be very hard if we were always running to one activity after another.  I became convicted that we needed to spend most of our time in the home seeking first the kingdom of God as a family and make sure that things were running well on the home front.  I learned to really count the cost of committing to an activity before making a decision to get involved.  One helpful question to ask ourselves is, "Will my children still be reaping benefit from this activity ten to twenty years down the road?"  If the answer is no, then maybe this is an activity that could be turned down.  It is hard to say no to opportunities, but sometimes this is the best thing we can do for our families.  

2. Changes

  

  I think change can be stressful even if it is good change.  An example of this would be moving to a better location for your family.  That may be a great thing in the end, but all the emotion, uncertainty and work involved in getting that goal accomplished can be a real stresser.  

  Also, changing seasons, watching children grow up, watching parents age, and launching children into adulthood can all be draining on our emotions.  In times of change we are reminded that we need to hold things loosely.  If we try to have a firm grip on things we will find ourselves struggling to keep things a certain way.  If, however, we learn to let go and trust in God's Sovereignty, over the ones we love, then we will be able to walk through the changes more gracefully.  

3. Trusting My Own Ability When I Should Be Trusting in Christ's Sufficiency

  Everything in our culture tells us that we need to be strong, confident women and make our dreams come true.  I am sadly seeing this mentality even amongst women claiming to be Christian teachers.  The ideology goes something like this, "Only you can believe in yourself, dream big dreams, pull up your boot straps, overcome your difficulties, and make things happen."  The focus is on trying hard enough, being brave enough, dreaming big enough dreams, and doing whatever it takes to make YOUR dreams a reality.  I really have a problem with this teaching that seems very prevalent and popular today.  

  My understanding of Scripture is that we should live for Christ and His calling on our lives.  Just because I dream something up does not mean that it is God's will for me.  Also, being confident in myself is not the goal.  My confidence should be rooted in Christ alone.  I actually do not feel confident in myself to parent my seven children well, homeschool well, write well, speak well, do homemaking well, be a great wife, etc.  My confidence is that Christ will accomplish His work through the weak vessel that I am.  If my assurance is in myself then I'm in real trouble.  That seems like a huge burden to bear to think that I would have to believe in my own abilities and work hard enough.  

  It is hugely comforting to know that Christ desires to do what only He can do through me.  Though I am weak, He is strong.  The Christian life is not about working hard enough to actualize my personal goals and dreams.  It is about an exchanged life meaning not I but Christ.  This truth is freeing and comforting.  

  Isn't it interesting that the Word of God tells us that we actually can do nothing apart from Christ?  Abiding in Him is the source of our ability and our confidence.  I think we need to be keenly discerning about this popular message that is taking the internet by storm that says, "You just have to get up and chase your dreams and make them happen."  That is not a Biblical message, and we need to think Biblically.  Let's not get caught up in following the teachings of Instagram if they are not in line with the inspired Word of God.  This, my friends, is why we need to saturate our minds in the truth of Scripture so that we will not be taken captive by the philosophies of men.  

  I hope this has been helpful in thinking through where some of our feelings of being overwhelmed may be rooted.  Of course there are so many other things that cause us to feel tired and overwhelmed, but I think these three areas may be the root of a lot of it.  I can think of others too, but for time sake I am just focusing on these three today.  My encouragement to us all is to put our hope and confidence in Christ, to think with a Christian worldview, and to commit our ways to the Lord instead of being anxious.  This is a day by day and moment by moment journey to try to live this out, but we grow through the process of learning to put all our hope in Christ alone.  He should be the source of our strength and our confidence.  He will help us to prioritize our days when we seek Him and His righteousness above the demands and pressures the culture puts upon us.  As I grow older,  I want to become better at being still and remembering that He is God and He is Sovereign over us.  His ways are always loving and good towards us.  We can trust Him.  I have a long ways to go in growing in these truths, but how thankful I am that our Lord Jesus is sanctifying me and teaching me as I look to Him.  Have a blessed week trusting in the Creator of your souls Who loves you and is sufficient for your every need.