So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  2 Timothy 2:22

I went on a private, silent retreat a few weekends ago for my annual reboot. Trying to get a new perspective, I chose a new location. I ended up at Mary House in Spencer, MA.

I was unable to arrange spiritual direction until later in the day on Saturday. That morning, I sat with my Bible and coffee, trying to hear, on my own, where God was trying to lead me. As crazy as it sounds, I found one of His messages in the bedspreads!

Being the only one in the house, I got the biggest room with three twin beds. It was primarily decorated in white, and was very bright and happy. As I tried to focus in and hear God, my mind and eyes wandered. I found myself hyper-focused on the white-on-white bedspreads.

Although they appeared to be identical, something was off. I analyzed them until I finally figured out one was inside out. It was showing the same pattern, but in the reverse: Where the other two had raised triangles, this one had recessed triangles.

Isn’t that just like motherhood?

As we’re flying by the seat of our pants, we may think we’re living out our priorities. But upon closer inspection, we realize we’ve let the daily chaos, or society, define our priorities for us.

We may claim to want to raise our kids to realize the true meaning of Christmas. Yet, we distract them by showering them with more gifts than we intended so they have enough toys and gadgets to keep up with their friends.

We may say we value dinner time as a family. Yet, we enroll our kids in multiple activities so the world sees them as well-rounded. Consequently, we’re making and eating dinner on the fly to get them to where they need to be.

We may claim to be raising our kids in faith. Yet, we’re so busy and haggard, we’re not exemplifying what that looks like in our own behavior.

That doesn’t make us bad people or mothers. It just means we’re human, and we’ve veered off track. That’s why it’s so important to refocus and reboot.

Even if we’re not in a position to get away for a weekend, if we can carve out twenty minutes to check in with God, He’ll show us where we’ve been living inside out. He’ll also guide us on how to flip things over to match our actions with our priorities.

We’re all different, with different challenges and approaches to life. But I’d hazard a guess we all have the same priorities: To build a loving, nurturing, and faith-filled home for our family. God wants that too.

He’s always ready to help us get back on track and turn things right side out. All we have to do is call upon Him, and then watch and listen for His guidance.

Questions for Reflection:

     * What are my priorities in life?

     * Do my actions match those priorities?

     * If not, where do I need God to help me turn things right side out?

Thank you to everyone who has been voting for me on the Top Mommy Blog directory for all these years. Sadly, Top Mommy Blogs has closed shop. There’s no need to vote anymore. Again, I’m SO grateful to all my readers who kept me in the top two positions in the Spirituality and Faith category for all those years!