Just A Minute...

When I am in good health I get busy catching up. And when I get busy, so many things can just swallow me up. I have to remind myself to just pace myself. Go slow. Sit down and take a break. To not fear the next time period of flat-on-my-back-helpless. To let God be responsible for the To-Do List and to do what is needful.

As a mother this pacing oneself is so important. Going slow enough that I don't have to screech to a halting, "WHAT?" when he needs me. Slow enough that I will be able to calmly apply the brakes and stop long enough not just to answer his question or look at his Lego tower, but to engage in it. To joyfully engage in him.
 

This includes limiting screen time, and always being available to look up from the screens, but even more than that... to put the screens away. Dear Mom on the iPhone was such a great reminder for me today. Moms, if you carry a phone or a computer, you should read this.

Because these moments are fleeting and I don't get to decide when they happen. So I won't blink. If I am able to be vertical, my kid is more important than my phone or computer.

That's what I say when I am down. But busyness comes and soon enough I find myself saying, "Just a minute. Just a MINUTE. JUST A MINUTE!" But those minutes keep adding up...

It's hard to focus in this world of screens. Screens are a constant temptation for so many forms of instant gratification. May we all make minute-by-minute choices to put the screens away, and to put people -- real life ones -- first.