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Meeting the Emotional and Spiritual Demands
And of course, besides the physical demands of homeschooling and homemaking, there are emotional and spiritual demands as well. When these demands become too great, then we get fatigued and discouraged, and that leads to burnout. We must replenish our resources continually by abiding in the vine that is the Root of Life and all good things. Develop the habit of living in God’s presence. When my children were small, I found it nearly impossible to maintain a separate daily prayer time as had been my wont. The demands on my time and energy were just too great. I learned to speak to God while washing dishes and hanging laundry on the line; I learned to listen to His voice while cooking and settling sibling disputes. I found my daily relationship with Jesus deepened rather than compromised when I took Him out of my prayer closet, and included Him in the diaper-changing and rocking the little ones to sleep. I found that rather than being aware of Him and being in His presence for one hour daily, I was now aware of Him and living in His presence for twenty-four hours daily.
Develop an “attitude of gratitude” by giving thanks in everything, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us. The joy of the Lord is our strength, and praise is becoming to the upright. No matter how black the situation, there is always something we can find for which to sincerely thank Him. His glory and majesty are not diminished because we are having a bad day; take a minute and worship the Lord of Heaven and Earth just for no other reason than who He is. When we are living in His presence, maintaining an attitude of praise and thanksgiving for all He does for us daily, then something happens to us. Jets travel in the stratosphere because all the weather happens in the troposhere, and it’s a lot easier to just avoid the weather than fly through it. That something that happens to us is like flying through the stratosphere and avoiding the weather in the troposphere. Life on the one hand has not changed for us, and yet on the other hand everything has changed. We find the inner peace, strength, and patience with which to cope, with enthusiasm and exuberence. It is because we are living “in Him,” and He Himself is the Prince of Peace; God Almighty whose name is like a strong tower, the Everlasting Father who is long-suffering and forbearing.
Maintain daily or consistent Bible-reading. If it seems like no matter what, you cannot make the time for it, get the Bible on tape and take a Walkman with you when you have your daily walk; exercise your body and feed your spirit in one time slot. :-)
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