Time Out!

As a mom, I have often sent my children to the “time out” chair or corner. Sometimes it would be 15 minutes, or 30 minutes. It was an opportunity for my children to sit quietly and reflect on their behaviors, attitudes and motives. I cannot say that it always worked, but when it did, I was thankful because their hearts were changed.

Lately, I have been wanting to give myself a time out. Not so much for discipline, but just to simply be alone. I feel an increased need for moments in my day where I can breathe in Jesus and exhale the cares of the world. My heart longs to get away alone, by myself, for just a few moments of quiet reflection. I don’t want to have to do anything. I simply just want to be. And I don’t always want to run into the bathroom, lock the door and stay for awhile. Isn’t that where we moms find our quiet place? Until the children come knocking on the door that is!

It’s not often that I get those moments. As a full-time working mother of four children of varying ages, a loving husband and ministry commitments, there are hardly quiet moments left at the end of my day. And when there are, I often feel as if I need to fill them with some greater good, like caring for my children, grocery shopping, menu planning or house cleaning.

Why is it that I often feel as if every waking moment of my life must be spent on others? I cannot ignore my God-given role as a wife and mother. However, I do believe God wants to give me “glimpses of His goodness” each day by gifting to me spare moments in His presence. I am not talking about extended times of prayer here. I am talking about receiving those spare moments as gifts from the Lord that allow me to stop and be refreshed in His presence.

My girlfriend tells me this story. She was a young, homeschooling mom of several very active children. She was hardly ever away from her household without her children. But she understood the importance of quiet times of reflection. Her children at the time were too young for her to remove herself to another part of the house. So, she would sit in the middle of the floor and put a blanket over her head. When her children asked her what she was doing, she would say, “Mommy is in time out. You may not speak to me until I remove the blanket.”

As a mom, I need to give myself permission to pursue those spare moments that God gives to me in my day as gifts. I need to throw a blanket over my head, put myself in “time out” and be okay with the fact that I am not doing anything for anyone. It doesn’t have to be long. 5 minutes. 10 minutes. 15 minutes. Moments just long enough to allow myself to stop, breathe, reflect and be refreshed in His presence.

Seek the Lord while you can find him.
Call on him now while he is near. (Isaiah 55:6)

Give yourself permission to take a time out with God today! You will be glad you did and your family will love you for it!