The Busy Season: Finding Rest in the Chaos
My name is Kristen, and I’m a recovering busy-aholic.
For the majority of my life, I was busy. I worked way too many hours a week. I had my daughter, Kate, in competition dance 15-20 hours a week. I volunteered. I taught small groups. I went to all the extra-curricular activities.
I did it all, and I did nothing well.
Fall is here, and for some reason, fall brings all these extra stressors:
Have I scheduled my fall minis with the photographer yet?
Have I picked out our matchy but not matching clothes for the fall minis yet?
Did I find a date in our schedules where we can all go spend hundreds of dollars at the overpriced pumpkin patch to do all the things we did there last year? And the year before?
What are the kids going to be for halloween?
Crap, I forgot the pumpkins.
And the halloween candy–sorry neighborhood kids.
Shoot, when is trick or treat here anyway…
And, oh my gosh, is there a party at school???
Does that sound familiar to you?
And, that’s just October.
We have to take back our time, our schedules, and our expectations.
When the pandemic began, Kate’s dance studio was forced to shut down in-person classes. She was in 8th grade at the time, and it was literally the first time since she was seven that she had free time. During the summers, she would have around a month off from dance, but that was the extent of her free time. So, when the pandemic hit and the world stopped, she got to stop too.
Does this sound at all familiar to you? Are your kids so busy with the travel ball and the music lessons and the volunteer work that they don’t have any time to just be kids?
We were on a walk during that first week, and she looked at me and said, “Mom, this is nice. I kind of like having time to myself.” Now, as a parent here, I had one job–to listen. So, I asked her to explain what she meant and encouraged her to think through and then talk through what she was feeling. She completed that competition season and then made the decision to be done with dance.
Not having dance dominate her life and our schedules was a little weird at first. This was the first time in all those years she had weeknight evenings free.
I cooked real meals again.
I read and wrote in my own house instead of the Panera lobby.
I slowed down and found myself again.
She started reading again.
She reconnected with friends she left behind for dance and her dance friends.
She went to youth group again.
We ate dinner together again.
We sat and talked about all the things in our living room instead of in the car for 20 minutes on the way home from dance.
We found tv shows to binge.
We learned how to be still and be in the moment without the stress of being busy all the time.
Slowing down and stepping away was the best decision we could make as individuals and as a family.
Rest
It takes grace to allow yourself to rest, to change your priorities, to understand your kids will be just fine without travel ball, competition dance, and all the other distractions that dominate our lives.
This grace and these changes will be life-changing for you but also for your family.
I can’t think of one place in scripture where Jesus or any other teachers encouraged their listeners to be so busy they were run ragged, but I can think of multiple times in scripture where God and Jesus not only rested but encouraged us to find rest for our bodies and souls.
Today, I encourage you to breathe during this fall season, to find stillness and rest, and to give yourself the grace to say no to the things that really don’t matter, and by doing just that, I pray that you can see hope for tomorrow and for the next season of a quieter time for you and your family to rediscover what is important.
Until Next Time,
Kristen
Reflections (for your journal or drop a comment)
When was the last time you and your family felt rested?
What stress are you putting on yourself this season that you and your family could really do without?
What are your priorities for yourself and your family?
What do you need to change to truly make those priorities happen?
How are you doing with being still and knowing that God is God?
Scriptures for reflection:
Matthew 11:28-30
Hebrews 4:9-11
