Finding Enough Time

Posted by Kristine | 0 comments

Finding Enough Time

Do you ever feel like you do not have enough time in your day? Does your clock seem to move in fast motion and the hours slip away? I am often asked how I manage with such a large family. How do I find the time to do all that needs to be done? After all there are only 24 hours in a day! “By the grace of God and day by day,” I reply. I must remember that I have been called to do this and that God will not ask of me any more than I am capable. My capability however does not rest on my shoulders alone. In fact, my capability is not worth much at all but I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

We can accomplish so much more if we rely on God; his guidance, His strength, and His might. He provides the tools we need to accomplish the tasks He places before us. One of those tools is the ability to prioritize. We must not get caught in the trap of taking care of the urgent before the most important. This is a habit into which we can easily fall.

For those with larger families this task of prioritizing can seem a more daunting task.This is not necessarily because we have more things to accomplish (though sometimes that is the case) it is usually because of the volume of those things is greatly multiplied. I can say this because I have been there. When our family was smaller we had fewer things to pick up and A LOT less laundry to wash. There were not as many dishes to clean and diapers to change. I could vacuum less often because there were not as many feet tracking in dirt. I could go on and on. It is very easy to get caught up in all of this to the point of neglecting the most important things, our time with the Lord and the training and enjoyment of our children. This is not glorifying to God and glorifying God is the reason we are here.

The Westminster Catechism question #1 asks, What is the chief end of man?

The answer is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
(1 Corinthians 6:20, 10:31, Revelation 4:11)

Prioritizing is the one of the best ways to address this problem. To prioritize simply means to assign priority to. Priority is, according to Webster, precedence in place or rank. We must, through prayer and discussion with our spouses, determine those things that are most important and those things that can be removed from our plate. We need to determine what all of those things are that we have to accomplish, or think we have to accomplish, and rank them. We often read about the picture perfect homeschooling families where the children excel in everything and have a dozen of extra curricular activities at which they also excel, but this is not what every homeschooling family looks like or even should look like. We are all different. Can we accept that we do not have to look like that perfect homeschool family? Can we face the fact that there is such a thing as being too busy and doing too much? You will find that 24 hours in a day is more than enough if priorities are set, unnecessary things are let go, and a good plan is implemented.

If you find you do not have enough time in your day or you are meeting the urgent before the important, I would suggest reevaluating priorities. List them. See what can be let go. Do first things first, in order of importance. Accomplish the primary before the secondary and see if things fall into place better than before. Trust in the Lord and His might.

Last month I posed the question, “So, why do you do what you do?” This month I ask you, “What are your priorities?”

Kristine is the wife of a pastor who is currently serving as a chaplain in the military. She is also the mother of eight wonderful children and schools them using the Classical Christian method. In her column, “Ducks in a Row,” she writes about the challenges, joys, and logistics of homeschooling a large family. Visit her at her blog, Mama Archer.