I hate busy.
I resent busy.
I am not who I want to be when I am busy.
I am short.
I am rushed.
I am stressed and not relaxed.
I am not focused.
I don’t have enough time.
I don't have peace.
It’s during those busy times that we can fall away from praying.
And we can fall away from connecting with our kids.
It's like that quote often attributed (but not verifiable) to St. Francis de Sales:
“Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer a day, except when we are busy – then we need an hour.”
It makes sense.
The times where we feel we don’t have time to pray are the times we need prayer the most.
Prayer is how we reconnect with God and nurture our relationship with Him.
If we get caught up in our busy and neglect to connect with Him in prayer,
we feel lost,
disjointed,
disconnected.
We risk becoming disordered.
It’s like that when we neglect to connect with our kids, too.
The times we feel too busy to connect with our kids are the times we most need to connect with them and when they most need to feel connected to us.
Just as we can feel lost and disjointed when we neglect to connect with our Lord in prayer,
our kids can feel lost and disjointed when we don’t take time to connect with them.
When we are busy and stressed,
we naturally withdraw from others and turn inward to get done what we need to get done.
That can leave our kiddos feeling a bit off-kilter,
missing their source of feeling grounded in this world.
Although taking time to connect can be difficult when things are really busy,
as with prayer,
it is essential to set aside a few minutes to connect with our kiddos.
Especially when we are really busy.
Filling up with love and connection,
even for just a few minutes,
gives us and our kiddos a reserve from which to function.
What might that look like?
Just as we might do minute prayer check-ins to reconnect with our Lord (“Come, Holy Spirit” “Jesus, I Trust in You” “Dear Lord, thank You for everything” or an “Our Father” or “Glory Be”, etc), we can do minute check-ins to reconnect with our kids.
Maybe we can cuddle for a few minutes.
Maybe we can chat.
Maybe we can play.
Maybe we can give a gentle squeeze on the shoulder when passing by.
Maybe we can say, “I look forward to hearing about your day when I finish with this.”
Maybe we can make or pick up a favorite meal.
Maybe we can slip them a note.
Maybe we can thank them for something they did or said.
As with prayer, the best way we can ensure that we connect with our kids when we get busy is to get in the habit of connecting with our kids throughout the day.
Every day.
When we pray regularly throughout the day,
we are more likely to pray when we get busy.
Likewise, when we connect with our kids regularly throughout the day,
we are more likely to reconnect with them when we get busy.
Let’s not let busy steal our connection to our Lord or to our kids.
May Christ’s Peace be with you. 💕🙏💕
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