I wish you could have been in my silo farm store with one of my milk-moms the other day because she asked the most brilliant question that we all need.
She had just finished an overnight nursing shift in the ICU (can we just say WOW?!) and came to pick up milk before she even went to bed (can we say WOW again?!).
As we talked, it’s like she read my mind. I’m wondering if maybe you feel the same way.
She shared that she loved her job, but she had been doing some thinking lately about working overnights.
“I just have to stop and ask myself, what is really best for my family?” she shared. “My kids are only little once, and I wonder if I’m just missing something.”
Obviously, we all have different situations, but how amazing would it be if we forced ourselves to ask that question more often? I was floored when this milk-mom shared that with me because I feel the same way – I want to live on purpose!
Last week, I talked to another friend who confided in me that she is burnt out and weary from her kid’s sports schedules. “I didn’t think I’d be so much of a chauffeur… and it’s getting old. I’m tired of it.”
What if we could just be honest and “call it like it is”?… What would change if we began each day asking “what’s really best for my family?” What things might change?
- Maybe we’d eat differently.
- Maybe we’d cut social media and go to bed earlier.
- Maybe we’d cut back on work to be with your kids more.
- Maybe we’d find a friend to encourage us.
- Maybe we’d take a walk with our kids.
- Maybe we’d join a Bible study to feed our own soul.
- Maybe we’d value our kids’ souls enough to actually get up for church on Sunday.
If we really made ourselves ask “what’s really best for my family”? What would change?
I think things would look closer to the purposeful life that we all want to live.
Thanks to this brave milk-mom, I’ve been thinking about her question in everything I do.
I know I’m not the only one.
Another milk-mom shared with me that exhaustion is the new “mom culture.” While having supper with some friends, she commented that she was exhausted, to which they all laughed and said they were too. “I keep telling myself this is a phase and I will eventually miss this, but will I?” she questioned.
“Don’t get me wrong, I do love watching my kids play sports and cheering for them…[But] I laugh because I have my day job and my evening job is running everyone around plus getting all the homework done, housework, and supper. I go to bed when the kids go to bed and I wish I could go to bed even sooner most nights.”
This milk mom didn’t stop there though. She isn’t letting overwhelm cripple her. She explained that she and her husband have identified things they would like to change (like having more family time), they know the danger of doing nothing, and they are taking charge of changing the future.
Talk about taking charge of “is this best for my family”? Wow, what if we all actually paid attention to that gut feeling we have? Like the gut punch you feel when you drive past a church on Wednesday night and you know there is a kids program happening but you drive past. What if we pumped the brakes and checked our priorities?
The best selling book of all time asks our question better than I ever could: “What does it profit a person to gain the whole world yet lose their soul?” (Mark 8:36) What if we asked that question before every practice? Before every added commitment. Before everything we do. At the end of the day, if our kids become athletic all stars (“gain” the whole world) but they don’t know Jesus – we’ve lost their souls. When all is said and done, if our kids “gain” the whole academic world graduating with honors, yet we ignored their character, we’ve lost their souls. If we ourselves “gain” the whole world by working extra hours to make the extra money to fund the extra hobby at the expense of family, I think we’re losing our own souls.
Back to the question that’s ringing in my ears: “I just have to stop and ask myself, what is really best for my family?… My kids are only little once, and I wonder if I’m just missing something.”
Let’s not miss it. There is no profit in gaining the whole world at the expense of our souls.
Meet your farmer – Liz Gerdes. She and her husband run a farm-to-table Raw Milk dairy and farm Airbnb in Caledonia. If you’re looking for raw milk fresh from the farm, visit gerdesfreshfarm.com or follow her on Facebook @gerdesfreshfarm or Instagram @gerdesliz for more info.
Homemade Tallow Lotion
1 cup rendered tallow (be sure it doesn’t smell like meat unless
you want a beefy smelling face)
1/4 cup olive oil or jojoba oil
30-48 drops essential oils of choice (as desired for scent… less
us usually more)
- Melt tallow over gentle heat until it is liquid.
- Remove tallow from heat. Add olive oil and stir to combine.
- Add essential oils and stir again.
- For solid tallow balm, pour balm into a glass jar. Allow to harden in the refrigerator. When solid, let balm come to room temperature before using.
- For whipped tallow balm, pour liquid balm mixture into a large mixing bowl. Allow to solidify at room temperature. When solid, whip with a hand or stand mixer until light and fluffy. Store in a glass jar.
- Store both forms of tallow balm at room temperature.
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