Time

I read this article the other day, and I feel like it was written just for me.  It's about giving our time to God, specifically as mothers.  It's not necessarily about spending more time with God, but rather acknowledging that God is in control of your time.  For a mother of young children, I think it's essential to admit that you are not in control of your days.  It's like Proverbs 16:9 says:

We can make our plans,

but the Lord determines our steps.

(NLT)



I think if I were to translate this verse just for mothers, it would say something like this:

We can write something on the calendar,

but only the Lord knows if the children will cooperate.

Being a planner and a scheduler myself, this is something that can be very difficult for me at times.  I'm often quite disappointed when things don't work out the way I've planned.  It can also be very difficult for Annika when plans change.  There are times when I actually won't tell her what I have planned until we are on our way there.  I learned this the hard way, after a cancelled play date, and all  I heard for the next few days was "when are we going to the play date" (over and over and over).

I think I'm getting better at it, though.  The other day I had the day pretty much planned out, and then things changed by about 10:00 and nothing went the way I planned.  However, I tried my best to "roll with the punches" and still make the most of the day.  And even though it wasn't what I had planned, it was still a pretty good day.

I wrote out Proverbs 16:9 and put it on my fridge (actually right next to my calendar!), to be a daily reminder to me to hold my plans loosely, and let God be in control.