Can we really have it all?
A friends said to me this weeked “We can have it all. We just can’t have it all at once.”
She’s said it a few times and it got me thinking. I don’t particularly want it all, and certainly not all at once. Perhaps I am lucky that I’m not “made” to be a career woman; it certainly takes some of the pressure off.
There are other pressures, of course; but they are for another post on another day.
Really this coment got me thinking about something I read on another blog last week.
The author, Nicole Unice wrote “One a bad day…I wonder if I’ll be one of those women who says, “God planted a dream in my heart, but it wasn’t until decades later when my kids were grown and I had scores of wrinkles that it actually became a reality.” I wonder if I’ll be like Sarah or Hannah who lived whole lifetimes without realizing the desires of their hearts. I wonder if I can keep the faith, if that’s my path.”
When I read that I had one reaction – me too.
In 2008 year I started thinking about my purpose. I was spurred on my the birth of Bliss, the decision about whether to return to work and thinking about turning 30. This milestone is now only a few short months away and I’ve come no further in thinking about my purpose or my dreams for the next decade. God led me to a wonderful job that has been a perfect fit for my stage of life and passions and I’ve been blessed with another beautiful child.
Yet when I read that comment it resonated so strongly with me. I love my kids, I love being home with them, I love the home we have and the fact that I am gaining in confidence and competency in “running a home”
but
there are dreams,
passions,
visions of what could be – some noble, some just plain fun
that just can’t be realised while I am doing all this.
and I’m ok with that
most of the time.
There are a multitude of blessings and joys that come with what I am doing at the moment.
God is not absent in this season of life.
Perhaps what I have realised is that as I travel through my 30s, I will live the reality of the dreams of my 20s, raising my beautiful kids, loving my husband and enjoying the many beautiful relationships that are blossoming through this season of life.
Yes, the dreams are not gone and on a bad day I feel a little stuck.
but,
On a good day (which most are) I am filled with gratitude for the life I am living. The challenge before me, and dare I say before us all, is to let God be present, and let Him guide us through the life he has called us to live.
And maybe, just maybe, I do want to believe that you can have it all, just not all at once.
Mummble
Stitch Baby + Kids
I love the last two lines especially LOuisa.
I am content to live in the moment , at the moment.
I don't really have any dreams …thankful for the multitude of blessings and joys that come with what I am doing at the moment…
Thanks Trish. It took me quite a while to write that post and those final two lines were the end result of a process that left me with the realisation of why Nicole prefaced the statement with 'on a bad day'. The life I am living is exactly where God wants me and is exaclt the fulfilment of the dreams he planted in my heart and oh, what a blessing.
sending loads of love your way! so glad to be reconnecting with you in this wondering world of the interweb xx
hey Lou,
i loved this post. you are so insightful.
you are doing the best, most important job in the world. and you are creating a wonderful blog.
thank you.
you will get to your dreams in time- we all feel the same way! I think God gives them to us to remind us that there is more to life than all this- but we have to learn what he’s teaching us now, today, to get to them.
thanks for your blog! i read it before work and love it x
Hey Em, thanks for your kind words and encouragement. I love that we have reconnected via FB and this blog – not to mention a beer in Vietnam!
You can’t wear flats and high heels all at once – I read that in a great blog post at therhythmmethod. You wear what suits where you’re at in life, but the other pair, they just wait under the bed til you’re ready to go back to them.
Thanks for Rewinding at the Fibro. :-)
life in a pink fibro recently posted..Weekend Rewind
I have “had it all”, but none of it got done very well. So I now chose to have it all – just at separate times…
Sounds likea plan :)
I’m learning not to shriek in sheer frustration about this as well. Yes sometimes it goes well. Other times it all falls apart. I just keep repeating to myself: “rich fabric of life, rich fabric of life.”
Seraphimsp recently posted..Weekend grateful
That’s a good mantra! I might have to “steal” it xx
I really relate to this post. I too think we can have it all, but not all at once. I think a lot of mums want to be everything, but its impossible and leads to unhappiness and frustration. We miss the little things if we run around trying to be everything to everyone.
So true Karen. Do you think we get that pressure from our perception of other Mums having it all, or seeming so “together”?
This is a great post and definitely lots to consider. I think it’s true that we have only one life here and it will be hard to squeeze in all those dreams. But I do love that saying because perhaps most of them can come true… it just takes time. Thanks for sharing a little of your heart and soul. xx
Kymmie recently posted..10 reasons why i love summer
thanks Kymmie, how lovely x
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