Vital Prayer for Life with a Plethora of Choices!
"Lord, help me to know what belongs in my life and what doesn't... Help me to desire the things that you have called me to and lose all desire for the things that you haven't"
This has been my continual prayer over the years. Some people have a hard time keeping their lives in balance because they have a hard time saying "no" for fear of someone's disapproval. I struggle with saying "no" because I find so many things really interesting and I love to take ideas and “develop” them into amazing realities.
Right now, I feel I am being stirred on the inside for some new opportunity.... and I have a few opportunities in front of me. I want to rush ahead and say "yes", but instead I am taking a little time to pray the prayer above, consider all of the factors involved & watch for God's leading.
Already since I have slowed myself down a bit I am gaining some wisdom. Some of the choices would pull me away from home orientation. The time for those things is "not yet". My encouragement to all mothers is to make that your first filter, let your decisions of what to say "yes" to include & benefit your family unit at the same time. There are enough people out there doing their own thing and leaving their families in the dust, only to look back years later, lonely and full of regret that they didn't fully embrace those fleeting years.
Secondly, less is more. Add more cautiously than you think you need to. Isn’t it true that things tend to cost more and take more time than you think they will in the beginning?! If you are going to make a new commitment, make that your commitment say, for the year, and for that amount of time say “no” to other things. Act like there is only one time slot available and if it’s full, you can’t put anything else there. It’s not possible, period.
Third... & this can be a hard one, ask your husband for his input. It’s a scary thing to lay something so precious in front of another person. Yet it is the design of God himself that our husband would be our most precious guide! We’re so afraid that their motives won’t be pure and they will keep us from something good. But, that is not the way God thinks, is it? Definitely unredeemed thinking of our very predecessor, Eve, in our heads... who accused God Himself of the very same thing! Ugh!!
Instead, pray that God will work through your husband, protect & direct your life, and then believe that He actually will. God will use your spouse to bring you wisdom, help you hear His voice and discover the direction you are looking for.