Sunday, January 25, 2015

Bread of Idleness.




High school was over. I wasn't sure what He had in store for me - but, while I prayed hard and waited for His leadership, I knew this was no time to be idle. Honestly, I don't think God ever meant for his children to feel fulfilled, unless they were involved with some decent, honest form of work. Even in the garden of Eden, the Lord commissioned Adam to tend the Garden.

Wasting my time was the last thing I wanted to do, and I decided to make myself a schedule full of things that were important to me. It wasn't a staggering load, but I was excited to find my days suddenly full and meaningful. I was excited to get up in the morning and get busy on my to-do list. I was doing something worth-while.

People often think that stay-at-home wives and mothers sit around on the couch and eat chocolate all day. Playing with the kids, folding an occasional load of laundry or two, but, in general, just being lazy.

Heh. They must never have tried it - Mom let me take over the house for an extended period of time once and, really, I hardly had any free time at all. (And when I did have some, I was busy thinking about what was waiting for me when my "break" was up!) I was shocked at the workload she carried constantly. But there was a rigid schedule full of all the priorities - the "goals" for that day.

What kind of goals ought a single girl to have, these days? Your life is different from mine, and mine is different from yours. You'll have a different list - but here's a few ideas.


  • Devotions. Go ahead and set aside half an hour of your day to read the Bible and pray. One chapter as soon as you get up, and one chapter before you go to bed is also a great idea.
  • Exercise. I know - I hate it, too. But it is very important. Start small, though; you won't be able to do 30 push ups the first day.
  • Read/Research. If you're not learning something new (vocabulary words, recipes, you name it!) your ideas can get stagnant. A good biography would be a nice start.
  • Create. Look around your room, or even your whole house and look for things to spruce up. There are tons of ideas on Pinterest. Skirts to make, walls to paint, cards to design, gifts to create...
  • Be sure to do something fun with at least one of your siblings every day. How do you want them to think of you? The busy grump who never had time to read a bedtime story? or the fun older sister who has spur-of-the-moment Nerf wars at 9:00 in the morning??
  • Make a point to find someone to encourage/help besides your immediate family. People are so busy these days, and the number of folks who actually take time to say "I care" is growing increasingly few.

    The possibilities are endless - but remember not to build a schedule so heavy that you become burned out after the first two days. Keep it light and fun - and remember that it's okay to miss a day every now and again.

    What things would you add to your list?





1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this post. I will be graduating high school in just a few months and one of my greatest fears has been being "Idle" as you called it. This post was encouraging and inspiring!