"My Time Is My Own"

I think the hardest part of being a mom is coping with the HUGE amount of time it takes to do everything "momish." Taking care of a family, no matter how large, is hard and requires a lot of work! It is so easy to start to resent all of the things you have to do. As that resentment builds a mom often finds herself resenting the people she is caring for. Have you ever found yourself saying (yelling), "Why am I the only one who notices that this trash needs to go out?" Do you feel like you never have enough time to do the things YOU want to do? I know I have felt this way at several points in my life.

A turning point in my attitude came after I pondered the advice of a wonderful mentor. She explained to me that my time is not my own. My time is really God's time! I needed to give up my frustrations that I don't have time to do all the things I want, and learn to embrace my opportunity to bless my family now with my acts of service. She encouraged me to read a great book, The Screwtape Letters. The story is told in the form of letters from Screwtape, one of the Devil's top demons, to his nephew who is trying to tempt a human on earth. A passage in the book really helped me refocus. Screwtape counsels his nephew to "...zealously guard in his mind the curious assumption 'My time is my own'. Let him have the feeling that he starts the day as the lawful possessor of twenty-four hours...man can neither make, nor retain, one moment of time; it all comes to him by pure gift."

So, "my time" is God's time. Right now the best way I can use this time is to take the best care of my family that I can. If that means I'm in the kitchen a good chunk of the day it's okay! I can be happy in the kitchen knowing that I am using my gift of time to make sure that my kids grow healthy and strong and that my hubby is satisfied too. This is the first step to being happy in the kitchen! Embrace the time spent preparing nourishing foods! The benefits - a healthy family, fewer doctor bills, time spent working with your kids, etc. - are SO worth it!