A Mother's Sabbatical

How is it that motherhood can be the most rewarding and most draining thing in a woman's life? I ask myself this and wonder how I can love my family so much and yet feel the need to escape from them at the same time. I'm sure that every mother, whether she stays at home or not, asks herself that very same question every once in a while.

Well, last week, I escaped--for a few days anyway. I finished all the laundry, shopped for extra groceries, planned a few meals, packed my scrapbooking gear and left my family behind as I headed to the North Georgia mountains with my best friend (who was also escaping from her kids). We packed more scrapbooking paper than we did personal items, not to mention the photos, the embellishments, and all the other paraphernalia that goes along with that celebrated pastime. We stayed up late, ate whenever we wanted, and scrapped to our hearts content. And not once did we hear the words "Mommy" or "what are we having for dinner." It was wonderful.

On the last day, I woke up early and felt a small twang of guilt as I reached for my Bible. Was I just being selfish? Should I really have asked my husband, my mother, and my mother-in-law to take up my slack and care for my kids for three and half days just so I could go scrapbook with a girlfriend? With those questions still floating through my mind I opened my Bible for my truly quiet "quiet time" and the Lord led me to this passage in Matthew 14:"...And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray..."

When I read that verse, tears came to my eyes and thanksgiving filled my heart. I knew that the Lord was telling me that even He had needed time away from His family and friends to pray and rejuvenate. I knew than that it was okay to go away and be alone in the mountains. While we may not have prayed to whole time, we did seek His peace and share about His work in our every day lives. I also knew then that I would be ready to go home when the time came--that I would be ready to face again all the joys and frustrations of motherhood and homeschooling because I had been renewed in body, mind and spirit.

This short sabbatical was a learning experience for me. I learned that my husband and my children can survive if I am not there to tell them where the refrigerator is. I learned that I can still scrapbook, even though I had feared that the busyness of life had stolen the ability from me. I learned that I am still a person apart from being someone's wife and someone's mother and that I can enjoy being just me. I learned that friendship is something never to be taken for granted but to be cherished and nurtured. I learned that taking time for me can make me a better wife and mother. I learned that God cares for everything I care about--even about me taking a much-needed mini-vacation from my life. God is so good--all the time. Praise be to the Lord!