I hear moms say it all the time (and I cringe).
I used to say it, too.
You probably said it last week, or even in the past hour.
You may even be thinking it right now…
There is a four-letter word that is growing more and more popular in the mom crowd. And that word is …
B-U-S-Y
Are you busy? If you are, then, mama…I’ve got some news for you. You were never meant to be busy. You were meant to be productive. And there is a WORLD of difference between the two.
Busy is you trying to get your stuff done.
Productive is God getting stuff done through you.
The main reason moms are so busy today is that we take on a world of stuff that God never intended for us to do in the first place. Jesus said, in Matthew 11:29-30, “take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne” (amplified version).
Isn’t that amazing? God wants our work to be “useful, good, comfortable, gracious, and pleasant.” It’s not busy that God is after. He just wants us to do the work that He wants us to do. When we do work that God never intended for us to do then it turns out to be “harsh, sharp, and pressing.” Ever feel “pressed?” As a mom, I’m sure you have. We have a tendency to take on the world and then get discouraged and frustrated when we can’t get everything done. But God wants our work to be fulfilling, work that is “relief, ease, refreshment, recreation, and blessed quiet.”
Now, I’m sure that sounds a lot more like a tropical vacation. But when you are truly living in God’s will and doing ONLY the work that He had intended for you, that is exactly what your work feels like…a vacation. It’s a relief from striving and struggling, because we are leaving it up to God to do His work IN us and THROUGH us. It’s Him doing the work, not us.
Proverbs 31:16 tells us that a capable, intelligent, and virtuous woman “considers a [new] field before she buys or accepts it [expanding prudently and not courting neglect of her present duties by assuming other duties]; with her savings [of time and strength] she plants fruitful vines in her vineyard.”
This is one of those verses that slapped me upside the head (in a good way). We are always so quick to volunteer, or sign up, and squeeze more in, or chase one idea after another. It becomes way too much! Pretty soon, we’re stressed out and overwhelmed…and we did it to ourselves. In Proverbs 31, before this woman EVER accepts anything, she considers it very, very well. She wants to be sure she won’t be neglecting her present duties if she assumes other ones. One thing we have to remember is that if God wants us to do something, He will enable our time and energy to do it. However, if we take on something that will pull us away from the duties that God has already given us, we will never seem to have enough time and energy to get it all accomplished and vital areas in our lives will suffer neglect.
The coolest thing about this Proverbs 31 woman is that she plants FRUITFUL vines. That’s called productivity, mama! If you want to be fruitful in your life, then that doesn’t happen by being busy. It happens by carefully weighing every obligation before you assume it and by resting in the fulfilling work that God has given us. He knows what will bring you the most joy. Trust Him. Life is much more fun (and fulfilling) when you’re on vacation.
Laundry Mom~Hannah♥
