Find the Blessings


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I am going to get very honest in this post, as a working mom, I find the summer at times very stressful. I always want to find the Best camps for Hockey Guy so he can spend his weeks with Good friends. Some of this comes together very easily, but typically the month of August is very challenging. 

In August things around this area slow down. Congress is out and a lot of people are on vacation. I usually have some work projects in August which need to be tended to and we go on vacation in July so my August doesn't always look like everyone else's. Camps are hard to come by in August as so many people are out of town this month and many of the college kids who work at camps go back to school. In the past I have had 1-2 weeks in August that I needed to figure out...this year, I had four weeks. I needed to figure out four weeks to keep my work up while keeping Hockey Guy safe and entertained. I will not lie to you, I found this thought overwhelming and stressful.


For a bit, I was trying not to think about all I had to figure out because it seemed so daunting and started to give me anxiety. I also knew that doing nothing and worrying about it at 3:15 a.m. would not make this any Better. Often times, when I don't know what to do about something I just pray for answers, whatever those answers are. So in July I prayed for answers and the next night I sent an email to a bunch of our school friends to see what their kids were doing in August and if anyone had any Good ideas for me. Well, many of them emailed back quickly, with really Good ideas, some ideas that I hadn't even thought of yet. 

A few weeks later, I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do when it came to August and it was starting to make me really on edge. I continued to pray for answers and for peace. After a few days I had a thought...what if I did things differently than I had been thinking of? What if instead of finding someone to help me for a week and then still not having three more weeks figured out, what if I changed how I was thinking about things?

The answers that came to me at this point became our August schedule. My friend's daughter who is just a couple of years older than Hockey Guy was available every week in August, which was really Good because we would have consistency. Hockey Guy doesn't really need a babysitter anymore, just more like an older kid in the house with him. I decided to have her come twice a week, I would work from home twice a week and considering I have about 18 unused vacation days at this point, I would also take 1-2 days off from work. I was still pretty anxious about my plan as I wanted this to work for Hockey Guy, our friend, Running Daddy and my work so I continued to pray for peace and also to find the blessings.

The blessings came and they were clear. My boss was going to be traveling most of August and he told me not to worry and to do whatever I needed to do. He told me that he never worries about me working from home. Hockey Guy and our friend are having the Best time. They play basketball, lacrosse, Xbox and go for bike rides. She is also serving as a Good mentor for him as he transitions to the upper school by helping him with his locker and other questions he may have. I was also able to go to the pool with Hockey Guy on a Thursday, a movie with him on a Friday afternoon and be home the day of the eclipse. I found the blessings in what was once giving me anxiety and embraced the Joy along the way.

The blessings were the time I was able to spend with Hockey Guy and some time off that that I apparently needed. The blessings were all my friends who sent back an email with ideas and our friend who was eventually able to spend time with Hockey Guy and the fun that they had. My ability to work different at my job is always a blessing and makes the quality of our lives Better.

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We are now in the home stretch before school starts and what once seemed completely overwhelming became a Good period of time that created Joy. The most important blessing is knowing that when I really need guidance, God always helps me find the answers. The answers may not look like what I had originally planned but His plan is one that is rooted in His love for me and is typically the Best plan.

Find the blessings and Joy in everything.

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