Overwhelmed, Overbooked, and Stressed Out

Photo: Liz Navarrete

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Do you ever feel desperate? Do you ever wonder how in the world you will be everything you need to be for everyone in your life?

I have recently been learning that sometimes I need to say no. This goes against my natural personality of wanting to please people, wanting to serve God, wanting to help others, and wanting to stay busy. But every time I say yes, I am likely sacrificing something. That's fine if it means sacrificing something insignificant in order to do great work for God's Kingdom. But often, I sacrifice truly important Kingdom work within my own marriage and family in order to do tasks that I often say yes to.

Moms tend to overbook and neglect themselves. We don't give ourselves a Sabbath day of rest every week or even every month. So it is no wonder that we snap at the kids or our husbands...again. We are constantly stressed out, but do we have to be? We are in charge of the social calendar, so why did we book ourselves to go to three different birthday parties on the same day? Or why can't we just stay home on Friday or Saturday night instead of going here and there and all over the city?!! Or why did we sign each of our kids up for so many extracurricular activities?

My husband wisely advises me to keep it simple. Don't overcommit. If you volunteer to do something, make sure it will not stress you out. What benefit is it to do fun activities if you are screaming at your kids to "hurry up and get in the car! We're going to be late!" Similarly, does "serving God" come at the price of compromising your own testimony in front of your children?
What happened to the "gentle and quiet spirit" the Bible talks about in 1 Peter 3:4?

If you are like me and have found yourself overwhelmed again with the weight of the tears of your little world in your ears, join me in claiming this theme verse today: "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me" (2 Corinthians 12:8-9).