I took a bit of a blogging break, (well really a big break in general) over the holidays to spend some time re-organizing, re-prioritizing and seeking God in a lot of areas. Pete and I have been desperate for wisdom to know how to structure our home and daily life as we have entered the High School stage. During the past two years, a hobby has turned into a full time job for me, and I have found myself really struggling with how to be everything I need to be to everyone who needs me.
As moms, I think we have a special God-given ability to recognize when the balance of our home is out of sync. But if you are anything like me, maybe your first reaction is to fix, change, or even just "man up" rather than to pray and wait on God for direction.
"Strength will rise as we WAIT upon the Lord".
It is such a rare concept for me to wait rather than to act, but God is showing me the freedom that comes when I am completely surrendered to Him. He has also been teaching me how important it is for me to trust Pete's leading. (Sometimes that means more waiting....which by now you've figured out, that I stink at. :)
I wanted to share ONE area that God has been showing us we need to make changes in:
~SPORTS~
For any of you who know our kids, you know how much they love sports. And we love them too; love watching our kids play, watching them learn to lead, learn to fail, learn to work hard. Sports can be huge tools to help train kids about life. They keep us physically fit and teach us how to set and reach goals. They provide friendship and camaraderie. That said, sports can become idols. They can steal your time, your money, your devotion and thought. They can distract us and pull us in too many directions. And even though they are activities we can do together as families, more often than not, I see them dividing families rather than bringing them together.
Because there are so many families we know who have been more devoted to athletics than we have been, I think at times we have justified our own commitments. But with three kids, even just one team per child has at times pulled us in too many directions.
I'm not saying sports are bad, or that we shouldn't let our kids participate in them. And I don't have the answer to the question of "how much is too much?" but, I know that God has impressed on Pete and I's hearts that for us, the schedule we have maintained is too much.
So as a family we have decided to take a year off of any traveling sport or club team and just play sports for the school. In this decision, I have had coaches tell me that we are wasting our kids' talent....even throwing it away. Some have even yelled at me and put huge amounts of pressure on the kids to "convince your parents otherwise".
So, I'll keep you posted on how this plays out. My hope is that we will be able to spend the year creating more memories PLAYING WITH EACH OTHER, RATHER THAN JUST WATCHING EACH OTHER PLAY.
My heart is that we would be a family submitted to God's heart and not the worlds' expectations.
So, I'm just curious....have any of you struggled with this issue? Have you ever found yourself crying in a drive-thru during baseball season? Have you mastered the balance?
Please share...
