Being a mom of a teen daughter and a tween son whom are very active, and a Latin husband, my hands are full and time is sparse. My husband has his particular interests and set way of doing things or how he likes things done. Our kids have so much on their plate. Often our days are jam packed and when we get some respite, we take it.
Having hard core anything that leaves little room for flexibility creates a lot of stress, which I have done pretty much my whole life. Let me give some specific examples. For 3-4 months, I ate low carb and was pretty successful at dropping 25-30 lbs. However, I couldn't sustain the low carb way of eating because I really did love some high carb things and finding or making the substitute created so much stress, which I did not need. The stress made it not fun and I began to dread eating, which eating is a basic function of life. I dreading going to any social events or being out, just in case I was hungry and needed to eat. Eating nuts day after day was tiresome.
Needless to say, I gained all the weight I had lost, and all the hard work and time seemed like a waste. It wasn't, but it was frustrating. Fast forward 3 years later, God said, go ahead and enjoy food, drinks, all types - to your heart's delight. However, you must listen to what your body is telling you. Stop when it no longer wants food. Or, if it's wanting some certain foods, like green smoothies, give it to it. Or, if it wants some chocolate, go ahead and have some, but stop when your body says stop.
God had me do something similar to my exercise, too. And, sleep, I am definitely more disciplined here, where I used to be so challenged by this. Eating, exercise, sleep are some basic functions of life and these things were keeping me in bondage because I was inflexible and were idols in my life. God brought other things in my life to show me that I no longer needed to be a slave to these things, but rather listen to my body, which He created and designed.
Similarly, spiritually, we must make adjustments to our spiritual walk. Maybe how you've always defined your Quiet Time was a ritual. Maybe God is calling you to change it up and do some different things with your Quiet Time with Him to make it a more enriching experience for both of you. Or, maybe He wants to show you how to really Praise & Worship Him.
Allow God to help you to make adjustments to your life, to all areas, so that you can live more richly and enjoy this life that God has given you. Really tuning in and making those adjustments, I believe, helps me to focus more on God working rather than any man's programs, taking the eyes off idols and onto Him.
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