We can't simultaneously do all things the Lord has counseled us to do.

We have talked already about seasons of healing and taking small consistant steps, when we are on the path of healing. I think this is something that needs to be reiterated over and over again. Therefore, I am going to write about it again--and probably again and again :)) We tend to expect ourselves to simultaneously be able to do everything at once-especially within the mormon faith. I love Richard G. Scott . He seems to understand the complexities of life and living the gospel in an imperfect world. In April he said,

"We need not worry if we can’t simultaneously do all of the things that the Lord has counseled us to do. He has spoken of a time and a season for all things. In response to our sincere prayers for guidance, He will direct us in what should be emphasized at each phase of our life. We can learn, grow, and become like Him one consistent step at a time."-For Peace at home April 2013 Ensign

I love that. The Lord WILL direct us in what needs to be emphazized at each phase of life. The past 3 weeks have been overwhelming busy for me. It has been full of many many good things. Between my daughter's birthday party, helping my son finish his eagle scout project, trying to fit in time to study for an important credentialing test and then taking the  test, preparing for and doing 4 presentations (3 for church and one for work), working at the hospital and my private practice, having 2 meetings for a suicide prevention team that I am a boardmember of and starting and planning for our yearly event for Walk out of Darkness, fitting in all the kids various sports practices and games, Drs appointments, taking the kids on our traditional apple picking trip and making carmel apples....and more that I won't bore you with---it has been a busy time. You get the point. You know how it is. You can make your own list that looks the same or worse than mine.

Now all of things were important things -not fluff stuff. They were all things that matter to me. That said-it certainly did not leave very much me time. Just ask my husband, my me time is precious time for me. It is when I refill my bucket and take time to relax. Instead I found myself napping when I had a free moment. A sign to me that I might be doing too much.

Sometimes as mormons we wear our business as a badge of honor. We tend to think that the more good things on our plate to juggle- the better. This is NOT emotional health. Even the savior took moments to be alone -he went to the wilderness for 40 days, he took moments to sleep on the ship.

When I think of busy- I think of my mom. As mother of nine and symbol of selflessness in our community -she was always tired and always busy. I was reflecting on a conversation I once had with her when I was a young adult.  She shared that she had begun to hate the holiday season. I could not relate to this. She said that as the holiday would approach she would begin to get a knot in her stomache-- as she thought of all the stuff she had to do. And I can attest she did alot for Christmas! She made every day of the month exciting with tradition after tradition and simultaneoulsly did the same for neighbors and friends and those who did not have as much.

I remember saying. "why don't you just take a few things off your list, they are all good things, but if it is stressing you out it is not worth it." I was struck by what she said. She said she had gone through her list of to dos and they were all important to her. She did not want to take anything of the list. Now that I am a mom, I understand a little bit better of what she was talking about. There are so many things that we feel we want to do. It is not a choice between bad or good but a choice between better and best. Sometimes though we need to prioritize and part of that prioritization needs to be you.  That is hard for some of us to swallow. We find it easier to worry about others and put our own feelings and needs aside. If we can stay busy taking care of everyone elses needs then we don't have to face our own issues.

In the end--our own issues and needs tend to be much harder to solve. By not taking care of ourselves, we might actually be taking the easier way out. Although in our culture this is not validated. We are raised in a culture of  "loosing your life in the service of others." We are praised (by others and ourselves) for constantly being in the service of others. I have found that in fact it is much harder to sit with yourself and your feelings and actually try to figure out how to meet your own needs.  I want you to think about this some...have you made time for your healing? Do you feel guilty when you make time for it?  Or is it your first priority? I will share two of my favorite articles on this topic in following blogs.