New Beginnings (Part 2)
New Beginnings – Part 2
I hope you had a good week and were able to come up with realistic goals based on your family dynamics and season of life. Whatever baby steps you have taken, please congratulate yourself for that accomplishment. Hopefully one of the goals included personal growth. As a wife and mom, we have the tendency to look and see what needs to be done for others. While it’s good to consider others, if we truly desire to grow spiritually, emotionally, physically and even intellectually (our whole being) then it’s important to see how we can harmoniously blend together both meeting the needs of others and our own personal growth. It can be done, especially if part of your personal growth includes your relationship with God. Because a relationship with you is His desire, He will help achieve the balance needed.
Some of the balance comes as we change our perspective of how we view life. The general tendency for all of us is to divide our lives into sacred and secular compartments. We label attending church, Bible study, and daily devotionals as sacred and everything else, like laundry, cooking, and carpooling, as secular. What if we viewed all of what we do as sacred? How would that change our perspective towards a growing relationship with Jesus? 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” And Colossians 3:17 reads, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Yes, when we’re changing a diaper, folding laundry, or reading to our children, we can be doing it in the name of the Lord. Those everyday activities are all considered sacred in God’s eyes when they are done for His glory.
It really does change one’s perspective when we think like that and is a great baby step in deepening our relationship with God.
Another shift in our perspective comes when we have the right view of God, as well as the right expectations of our loved ones. I can so clearly remember the day this reality hit me in regards to my relationship with my husband, Gary. I was vacuuming and having a bit of a pity party conversation with myself. I don’t quite remember the exact ages of my girls, but they were still very young. I was thinking ‘what about me?!’ and expecting Gary to be like the hero men in the books I was reading or the TV programing of the day. Although it wasn’t audible, I heard this voice saying: “Anne Marie, you are placing unrealistic expectations on your husband. He was never meant, nor were your children, to fill all your needs. I’m the only One who can do that and I desire to do it completely.” It was amazing to me that the one baby step of removing those unrealistic expectations gave me such freedom and took a burden off my husband and children that they were never created to carry. Is this change in perspective a ‘one and done’ thing? To be honest, no. From time to time I still need to remind myself that Jesus is my all in all. It’s not a platitude, but a truth. To begin, I need to acknowledge that I have not been putting God first and am not fully depending on Him. It often hurts to admit that truth, but I can speak from experience and say that it is definitely worth it. You don’t have to wait until you are in your 5th or 5th decade of life to reach this reality. It can happen at whatever age you are now, and be the first installment in personal growth that will positively impact your whole family.
In my next blog, we’ll provide a few specifics in realistic goal setting according to age groupings. In the meantime, keep taking those baby steps moving forward. Picture a baby learning to walk: when he falls down, he keeps getting up. That’s a great example for us to follow.
Blessings,
Anne Marie