BIRD ATTACK! HELP!!!!

Dear Diary

I can hardly believe it's been so long since I wrote my last blog post! The one titled "How to make LEMONADE when life gives you nothing but TROUBLES". But I suppose I have been learning to put it into practice myself. I am still dealing with a lot of troubles (lemons) in my life and I therefore need a lot of time (water) to heal my broken heart. But what I wrote is true. I still do believe that gratitude (sugar) is the key ingredient to make life palatable. Otherwise each day seems to be more sour than the other. So, if nobody ever reads my blog, I will at least be preaching to myself and I sure need it. 😂

Today, more than two years later, I do have another thought I would like to share with you. It's about taking time to be alone with yourself, or at least away from your daily troubles. 

I am not entirely sure, but it would be my guess that about 30 years ago, before all the internet traffic started across the globe, our daily interactions with people were limited to about 10 or 20 people per day, depending on our work situation. But this number must have increased exponentially since then and especially since social media became a norm in our daily lives. We now probably tend to have close to 50 interactions with people daily if not more and I am just wondering...how are YOU coping with it? I must admit, I don't always cope so well with the onslaught of information and demands each day.

(Picture is my own.)

Let me add some pictures here to make this more understandable.  

If this little bird to the right represents each interaction with ONE person in a day, then some of my days sometimes really tend to feel like this scene in a park that I found on the internet: 

Would you agree? Does YOUR day ever feel like this? There are so many demands, especially on moms these days, that life, in general, can be exhausting. But does it really have to be this way? 

I recently had a chance to get away with my daughter for a couple of nights. We booked into a local hotel and practically never left the room, except for breakfast. We brought our books along and had such a good time doing NOTHING other than reading and relaxing. We ordered room service dinners and ate it while watching a movie. We had a blast! And best of all...we were finally getting a break from all the birds! No emails, no social media. No stress and no over demand. Just peace. 

Though I realize that life can't always be just bliss, I do believe that it also shouldn't be like the scene in the park above. We ought to be attending to as many things as we can cope with, if possible deal with one bird at the time, kind of like this:

(Picture is my own.)

Yet, life has a way of bombarding us with too many demands these days and more than ever, it seems so very necessary to set boundaries on the amount of things we deal with each day. "But HOW?" you might ask. That is truly a question that is not easy to answer. I suppose we will all have to answer it individually. No two lives are the same and if your energy levels are higher than mine, then you will definitely be able to handle more than I can. Personally, if my stress levels are on the rise, I like to squeeze in an additional "quiet time" though. Sort of a "mini-break", a few minutes alone with God and myself to think and reschedule what I cannot cope with. That usually gives me a great deal of instant relief. 

I know very well that it is super difficult, especially for moms with small children, to get any sort of decent break during the day and probably even at night. And I am fully aware that not everyone can afford a couple of days at a hotel, but I do hope that you will somehow find a way to break away if there are too many demands being placed on you today. Even if you have to lock yourself into your own bathroom at home, just for a mini-break. 🛀🏾 😉

"Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, 

and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, 

because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light." 

Matthew 11:28-30 NLT [Emphasis added]

This Scripture promises, that Jesus will never overload us and fortunately, I have learnt to recognize when my burden is starting to become too heavy and it's time to take my worries to Jesus and allow myself a little moment of rest. But I haven't always been like that. I used to overextend myself to the max. Now, I know that the resulting exhaustion is not worth it and comes at a very high price and that taking a little break is something I am not only entitled to as a mom, I owe it to my family and myself in order not to burn out. 

My kids are big now, but the best advice I could give to any mom out there, is to just do the best you can with what you have each day and don't expect miracles of yourself. You are allowed to rest!

I wish you a HAPPY and RESTFUL week!