Living on Someone Else's Timetable

This is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. -1 John 3:16

"The life of a mother is filled with moments, small and large, of laying down her life for her children

But God sees you, and me, and he smiles each time we put aside our own desires to serve and care for our little ones. No matter what sacrifices I am making in my life now, I know they pale in comparison to what Christ has already sacrificed for me.

Although I feel that I will forever be living my life on someone else's timetable, in fact I am living out God's timetable for me, on a heavenly schedule I may never understand to the fullest but that promises to be the best plan possible for my life."
-"Always There"; Helen Lee; p. 53

The question at the end of this chapter was "what are the toughest sacrifices mothering has demanded of me?"

I would have to answer personal time.

I've been blessed to have been home with my kids since they were born. My days have been devoted to caring for their every need. There have been different seasons that have allowed me more personal time than others, but for the most part, I am "living on someone else's timetable". My kids are now home with me all day. They pretty much go with me everywhere. I don't really get uninterrupted time until they're in bed and I'm "off duty". But my daughter just turned 10. The teen years are around the corner and in 8 years she'll be an adult. With time seeming to fly by so fast, I "count it all joy" (even the tough days) that I get to be with them so much.

Philippians 2:3-5 reads "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."

This season of serving my children will soon pass. So I will do my best to trust in God's future plans as I live out God's timetable for me.

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