How to Stay in Your Truth Once You’ve Stepped In It

In last weeks blog, I reflected on what it took for me to learn to find my truth, accept it and then step into it. It was at that point that I realized that all the work-reflecting, praying, talking, and more praying-meant that I had reached a destination, but my journey didn’t end there. In fact, I realized that this was just the beginning. Once I arrived at my truth, I learned the (much) harder work was to learn to stay standing there. At times this was easy and at other times it was quite difficult. Let me explain.

I fell into a trap. It’s a trap that many women fall into. I thought that I could do it all. Be the best mom, wife, friend, coworker, volunteer, and the list goes on. I tried to live up to unrealistic expectations that I had made up in my mind. Let me tell you, at first it felt great. I loved when people commented on something I was doing well. But eventually…the weight began to feel unbearable. You see, you can’t keep doing everything without getting worn down at some point. And when that happens then you aren’t doing anything well, especially the things that you know God has called you to do.

I remember a moment when this was particularly clear to me. My kids were a little older and I was starting to work part time but wanted to maintain my stay at home mom status. These sound and felt contrary, but at the time I thought I could do it all. I remember trying to make every field trip, every game and continue to volunteer in their out of school activities PLUS do my work. It. Was. Exhausting. And what’s worse, I wasn’t enjoying anything.

That is when I realized that I had stepped out of my truth. I wasn’t doing anything authentically or with my whole heart. I was just trying to be all things to all people. It wasn’t healthy for me and more importantly, it wasn’t how God wanted me to live my life. I think this happened because my truth had started to change but I didn’t change with it. I needed to adjust. I was trying to live out two truths-one of a stay at home mom and one of a working mom. I needed to find my one truth again. Then I needed to accept that truth and I needed to step into it.

How did I do that? I knew that our family was in a place where I could start my career again, part time for now. And I knew that I still wanted to have time to do the things I was able to do as a stay at home mom. I just needed to accept that I couldn’t do everything that I did before. Once I figured out how to balance the two, I was able to stand in this new truth again.

As our lives have changed, so have my goals and my roles. I have learned how to (mostly) stay standing in my truth. I usually know I need to pause when I start to feel overwhelmed or ultra busy. It is then that I stop and look at what is filling my time and energy. Next I pray about which of those fit into my goals as a wife, a mother, a Christian and as an early childhood professional. The decision to let go of some things in order to do others better is not always easy. But it is important if we are to stay standing in our truth.

It’s so easy to waiver. As women there are a lot of pressures, some of which we put on ourselves and others that are from society. But we will never become who God has designed us to be so He can use us to serve Him unless we stand strong in our truth and stay firmly planted there.

I would love to pray for you as you work through these moments in your life. Dear God, You have made each of us uniquely designed to live a life that serves You and those around us. You’ve given us each talents and abilities to do this. Please help us to know when we are straying from these. It’s so easy to do and we know we will need a nudge from you (and in my case sometimes a big shove). God, our desire is to stay standing in our truth but we need You to do this. Amen.

If you would like me to pray for your situation specifically, I would be honored to do that. Please reach out to me and let me know.

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Also be on the lookout for my next blog which will focus on praying in the every day moments of play.