It’s SO easy to look at what other people are doing on Instagram or Facebook and think that we need to be doing all those same things. There’s a temptation to create this half-imaginary woman who makes all her food from scratch, throws epic birthday parties, and doesn’t miss a killer fieldtrip or extracurricular activity for her kids. The reality is that none of us have time for everything and every family is unique. What we don’t see on social media is what friends are not doing to make room for the things that really matter to them.So instead of comparing, be inspired by what others are doing. But then consider the unique needs and vision of your own family and be confidant as you practice stewardship in your own unique stride and season.
What is one area of growth in your family you’re proud of? Celebrate the victories people outside you home may never realize.
5. Focus on what you can do, instead of what you can’t.
You’ve probably made sacrifices in your family budget and otherwise to be at home with your kids. We are constantly bombarded with information about all the experiences we should provide for our kids, the Instagram worthy “me time” we should make sure we get, advice on how to make our homes both beautiful and functional, and it’s easy at times to feel the odds are against us. Not enough money. Not enough time. Energy. Babysitters. Talent. Money. I’m being a little funny, but we face this, right? I’ve been down that road all too often before realizing how much my joy had been hijacked by negativity. It’s not worth it. God’s grace is sufficient right where we are. If we open our eyes, we’ll often find out-of-the-box ideas, sanity savers, and possibilities we would have missed otherwise.
Several years ago, I started getting super inspired about homemaking. In a quest to add a bit of beauty and tradition to my home, tea time was one of my first victories. The “problem” was that I didn’t own a tea set or a tablecloth to cover our makeshift folding table. I was tempted to long for the day when I could afford those things, but then I remembered an old, unused shower curtain upstairs that would work for a tablecloth just fine. So what if it couldn’t quite cover the whole table? One thrift store 50% off sale later, we had an entire tea set with saucers and all for $3 out of pocket. Tea time has been a consistent tradition in our home ever since.
Consider writing down a list of all the things you feel like you can’t do. Now that you have them on paper, brainstorm some ideas of things you CAN do with perhaps some help, creativity or a little advanced preparation.
6. Use your gifts.
Motherhood has a way of pulling our most important qualities to the table, namely, feeding, loving and keeping our children alive. It is true that motherhood is a high calling, but it saddens me when women live under the guilt that says that motherhood should fully satisfy them. First of all, Christ is the only one who can fully satisfy us. Secondly, God created us and gave us unique gifts to bring the world. I’ve discovered that there’s a part of me that comes alive when I allow the dormant gifts within me to have expression again, even if it looks 
different than it did in the past, or even the way I hope it will look one day in the future. I shared a story about this here and gave some additional practical tips for doing this here, but whatever it is that is life-giving to you – painting, writing, sports, organization, event planning, (fill in the blank) – I encourage you to consider if perhaps there is a season-appropriate way to let that beautiful thing in you have expression. You may just find your practice, work or craft is just one of the sanity savers that you need.
What you do is amazing, mama. Take a deep breath. As wise, seasoned women have told me: the days are long, but the years are short. As hard as this job is, one day we’ll miss this. So let’s take a deep breath, find our sufficiency in Christ and let’s move forward one step at a time.
I’d love to hear from you! What’s been some of your biggest sanity savers as a mom?
This article originally appeared at HannahSavage.com.
