Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Trading Burnout for His Peace

There’s a familiar guideline when traveling by airplane: if the cabin loses pressure, you must put on your own oxygen mask before helping anyone else. The idea behind this is simple: you can’t effectively care for others unless you have first looked after yourself. A basic analogy for life! I wish prioritizing self could be as simple as following a ‘self-care’ recipe card. It is just not that easy or simple. 

As women, we wear many hats, and many of those hats are of the giving fashion. It seems as though generosity is engraved into the spiritual DNA of a woman's heart! Sometimes this generosity comes at a cost. If you are anything like me, you often forget about the necessity of your own oxygen mask. My default is to white-knuckle my way through tough seasons, which leaves me grasping for ‘self-care’ or ‘me-time’ later. This often leads to resentment towards my overscheduled and busy life, which then forces me to slow down. But after I have a solid grasp on life again, I begin to overcommit, which then leads me back to white-knuckling. An exhausting cycle!

Wisdom's instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor. -Proverbs 15:33

What if, instead of reminding myself to put on an oxygen mask when things get hard, the need for the mask is eliminated altogether? On an airline, oxygen masks are only needed in emergency situations. Overscheduling my family's calendar, skipping daily prayer to create content for ministry, and distraction from my husband and children due to external obligations all create a crisis in my family's peace. 

I find much fulfillment when I am able to serve others outside of my home. This is why it is so easy for me to overcommit to things. Matthew 5:9 says, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.’  Cultivating peace with my husband and children is a necessity, not a luxury. I humbly share that it has taken me almost three years of motherhood to acknowledge that my personal recognition comes at the cost of my family’s peace. It is time to take that seriously. 

I feel confident that through this conviction, I am able to move forward, ready to invite the Holy Spirit into my decision-making. It's time to break the cycle for good by trading my burnout for His peace! 

Do you ever feel stuck in the same burnout cycle? 

What is your motivation behind committing to things?

Do you freely make plans, or do you feel like you are obligated to say yes? 

How do your commitments make you feel? Are they life-giving, or do they leave you feeling drained? 

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you in those moments of uncertainty? 

Peace I leave with you, peace I give you. -John 14:27

Loving Jesus, Prince of Peace, fills my heart with an assurance that You are near. Trade all my chaos and burnout for surrender and trust. Fill my heart with peace so I am able to overflow and impart that peace onto my family.

Give me Your peace when our schedule and calendar feel too busy for me to manage.

Give me Your peace when I commit out of obligation or fear of disappointing others.

Give me Your peace when my brain is preoccupied and I am not fully present with my family.

Give me Your peace when my to-do list becomes an idol.

Give me Your peace when I compare myself and try living to the same capacity as others.

Come, Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace! Thank You for all that You have done for me and I praise You for all that You will do. Amen.

Until next time, your sister in Christ,

Abby