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MOMSense, January/February 2008
Fill 'Er Up!
Don't neglect your personal growth even with all your mom responsibilities.
By Elisa Morgan
Ahh … done for the day. Baby and toddler in bed. At last. Or so I thought.
Then came a small, insistent voice from down the hall, "Mommy! I need another drink of water!" Another. More of me. And I was on EEEEEEEEEEmpty. There was no more of me.
A sucked dry juice box. That's us as moms of preschoolers. The needs of the day—and night—come to us, place a straw in our soul and begin to draw their sustenance out of our offering until an empty air sound occurs. And it's more than clear: There is no more. We're empty. In such moments, we're wise to realize when our level is nearing EEEEE and to run screaming, "Fill 'er up!"
What would that mean for you? In the midst of mothering, what refills your soul, your body, your mind, your energy, your hope? Knitting? Reading? Talking—freely and without little voices interrupting? Running? Nature? Work?
Time for me? At first glance, such an idea seems selfish. Nah … better to keep giving and giving and giving to the kids. Until I snap in exhaustion, mean words escaping from my mouth, lousy attitude leaking out. Hmm. Perhaps taking a bit of a moment for me will help make me a better mom.
At MOPS International, we believe better moms make a better world. Input to replace the output makes a better mom. Take time for you today, Mom. Refill so that you might fill others in your life who need what only you can give. In doing so, you'll be a better mom. And you'll discover life—Fullfilled.
Reservoir of Filling and Depletion
By Jane Rubietta
Day begins with an alarm screaming from a clock set 90 minutes fast. Presumably this helps me rise and shine, starting work sooner and working longer. Then the day goes too far into the night, and I eventually stagger to bed, too exhausted to be kind, with too few hours between the closing of my eyes and the opening of a new day. I want to live a spiritually impacting life—and do it without resting.
This is backwards from God's original plan. When God created the heavens and the earth, he created evening, and then morning, the first day. From that time onward, the Hebrew "day" began at sundown. Why? Perhaps because God knew the dangers of working first and resting second, and wanted all their work to proceed from their resting, their fullness, the depth of their relationship with him.
This principle of filling and depletion surrounds us. For two weeks, the heavens sucked up all moisture into clouds. Starting yesterday, when the clouds were full enough, the filling cycle began. A lovely, soaking, replenishing rain splattered over this corner of the universe, and the dehydrated trees and grass and flowers (and weeds!) responded eagerly. Robins effortlessly pulled worms from the saturated ground, the grass turned Wizard-of-Oz green, and the scenery called out "renewal!"
First evening, then morning … the millionth day. What if this principle guided our choices, our decisions? Filling and then depleting. Going deep, then going broad. Marathon runners carbo-load, then they rest, then they run, making sure to refuel en route to avoid exhaustion.
Excerpt from FullFill magazine, Summer 2007.
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FullFill is MOPS International's new magazine to encourage women in all seasons of life to maximize their influence. For a special FullFill offer for MomSense readers, go to www.FullFill.org/momsense.
Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/MOMSense magazine.
Click here for reprint information on MOMSense.
January/February 2008, Vol. 11, No. 1, Page 25
MomSense
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