Revived & Rejuvenated

Moms,

Today I am a bit tired, but extraordinarily revived and rejuvenated. I'm excited about today, and tomorrow, and the day after that. I'm also determined not to lose my excitement or commitments or what's brought me to this place.

That doesn't mean I believe I'll be on clouds and rainbows everyday for the rest of my life. It means that God has used some special time with Him to refocus me and rejuvenate me in ways that I believe will lead to lasting change and transformation.

More on that later, but for now, I'd like to take a moment to remind you what I was shown very clearly in the last two days - we moms need to take care of ourselves.

I generally think I do a pretty good job at this, but while I take time for myself fairly regularly, the truth is I've been putting quantity over quality. I take time for myself, but to veg, to chill, to just be alone. There is value in that, but I tend to overdo it. Most of the times - this is where confession comes in - it's to read a book or, more often, binge on Netflix. Even when I tell myself I'll just watch one episode to relax, it rarely turns out that way. Then I find I've wasted hours. I've had time to myself (which I cherish and regard highly), but it hasn't necessarily been quality time.

This past weekend I had the honor of sharing my testimony at a conference for young women and their moms. I almost took my oldest with me, but since she and I just spend two amazing days of worship at Liberty University for Winterfest 2015, I decided this needed to be just me. (Because while the 2 days of worship were great, they were also exhausting, and I thought my other 3 children might revolt if I did something with just the oldest again in such a short time span.)

It was a good choice.

While I believe my daughter would have benefited, I think it will be a greater benefit to her and the rest of my family that I had a chance to feast on the Word and be surrounded by women great in their faith for two days without having much expected of me. Out of the almost 48 hour retreat, I only had an obligation (which really was a blessing) to speak for 20 minutes. The rest of the time at the Such a Time Conference was spent being encouraged and uplifted by other Christian woman.

It was like a huge glass of ice cold water for this mom who (as I discovered by getting quiet and listening to God while there) had been in a desert place for a long time. Not that I wasn't growing, learning, serving, giving, and loving, but because I was doing all that without really re-nourishing myself regularly in the Lord.

I pray. I read, study, and meditate on the Word. However, I haven't been doing such in a way that the Lord could really refresh my spirit.

That's not only what He did for me this weekend, but also what He revealed I need to do on a regular basis in my life.

The truth is, He's been telling me this for about a year now.

Be still.

Be quiet.

Listen.

In experiencing times of being quiet with God over the last two days, I know this is a commitment I need to be faithful to. Want to be faithful to. Because God will keep me filled. He will draw me closer and make me more like Him so that I can be more of a blessing to those around me.

So, this is my public commitment, that I will spend not just quantity of time (praying regularly), but quality of time (praying deeply, listening, and leaning).

I invite you to do the same. And if you do, if you take the time to really take care of yourself, to spend time with God that's essential for us to ever even come close to doing this mother thing well, I'd love to hear about it! I invite you also to share your journey with me at tracy_wainwright@yahoo.com.