Grace During Quarantine

It is not easy being a busy working Mom of six, especially in our current days of being quarantine with COVID19. We have now approached our third week of  ‘stay home’ restrictions (or fourth week…I can’t keep up anymore…what’s today?? Who knows, lol), trying to still do all the Mom/Wife/House duties, new working routine for me, and lastly… home schooling six girls… all this makes we want to … ummm ‘punch someone in the face’, hahaha. There are days that I want to pull my hair out…there are days I feel like my girls are obedient…. and then there are days I get the ‘mom guilt’ because all I did was yell because no one cared to follow or listen to my parenting advice or guidance. “My space” … meaning my/our normal mom, wife, kid routine is all out of whack. I feel like I can’t breathe at times and I just need alone time more than I ever have before. I am struggling with… what the heck is happening???? Yes, there is a mystery to what is happening all around the world…but I am talking more about what is happening inside my house…and inside me

I ask myself: 

am I just being lazy???

am I struggling because I have lost control over the ‘norm’??? 

am I just being selfish??? 

OR AM I BEING THE DISOBEDIENT ONE??? (How gut wrenching this is to say and possibly realize. Am I THE REASON??)

As I type this… I feel like God is speaking to me at this moment and bringing to light that I AM being the disobedient child to Him. His word “GRACE” is getting thrown at my face… (and I’m laughing out loud because I feel God just “punched me” in the face).

GRACE: and unmerited favor, something we don’t deserve. It is a gift of God to us (Ephesians 2:8-9).

God is reminding me that I must be obedient to Him because…. guess what!! I fail all the time too….and GOD STILL POURS HIS GRACE out over me constantly!  I MUST do the same to those around me…especially during this time of being ‘stuck in the house’…  I need to give grace to my husband and children.

So how do I do this? How do I practice Grace as a busy working Mom/Wife? 

I think it starts with taking self-control over my words.

  1. Take a breath. When I start to feel like I am losing control, or I am in a conflict with the children (or even husband) … I need to stop! take a breath! walk away! and pray!
  2. Pray. Take a ‘prayerful pause’.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to ‘poke’ my heart. Speak out loud the words in the verse James 1:19

         “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”

So, as we continue days on days of being confined in our house, which may cause a lot of different routine and emotional changes…. let us challenge ourselves as Moms to be obedient to God and apply two steps to help better our days.  Taking a breath and pray! Speak the words from James 1:19 out loud and I believe this will help mine, and your, hurtful words to fly away in the midst of frustrations. And remember the good news is, WE CAN DO THIS, by GRACE of GOD!

XOXO ~D~