When Responsibilities Become Burdens...

Hello and welcome back to the blog my friend!

It has dawned on me very recently that I have been completely stressing myself out: I've been like a dog to a bone on this blog and my channel for months, and now it's gotten to the point where I feel that I've missed out on the very things I encourage all of you to pursue; peace, community, hobbies, and personal growth.

I've had a sort of reckoning during this past week, and have decided I need to make some changes in order to get things rebalanced and back on track.

I'm going to be cutting back from 3 blog posts a week to 2, with our Sunday Series continuing on, as well as the mid-week listicle. I am also going to be taking a video break here and there when I need to, while still keeping my channel as a priority, but of course, not to the detriment or sacrifice of my in-person real life.

These shifts may seem out-of-the-blue to some of you, but to me, it's been a long time coming.

I had gotten so focused and busy lately that even one added responsibility seemed to topple over my entire house of cards. When I would have a baby shower or a wedding on the weekend, it would throw off everything, and I would find myself spending every waking moment playing catch-up just to make my scheduled deadlines.

Things have been slipping in my life for awhile: I have not had time or energy to practice my sewing, my homemaking, or even my typical volunteering. I haven't really seen many friends lately, and I seem to be failing at my typical cleaning routine.

Life has just gotten too much, and I realized that I need to practice what I preach to every one, and infuse a bit of "slow living" back into my life.

---

Now, slow living does not mean we are lazy, unambitious, or procrastinators.

It doesn't mean physically walking slowly, or taking naps everyday, or anything like that. Rather, slow living is supposed to be a personal commitment to pursue the slower and more meaningful and long lasting parts of life; our relationships, our personal growth, and our faith.

I have found myself longing for quieter days, before any of this took off. I've been envious of the quieter lives lived by some of my friends, and even realized I've been daydreaming of taking a day off just to fold laundry and listen to the birds chirp, far away from the Internet life I have built.

But you know what?

I know that I don't have to have "either, or." I don't have to pick! I can have my blog AND homemaking, but I need to rebalance. So in order to preserve my blog and channel, and to ensure that I will not come to resent the energy and time it takes from me, I have decided to pursue balance, and to cut back a little bit so that I can have more energy for my personal life.

While I was building everything up, it was easy to forget balance and laser focus on the mission of spreading the message of traditional homemaking and femininity, because I was so passionate about it! And while I am still passionate about this, I also feel that I have said all the most crucial things I came here to say, and now I can begin to pull back and rebalance my life.

It's time for me let up a little bit, and to live slowly.

It's time to find peace at home, and to focus on my husband.

It's time to fold laundry and listen to the birds chirp, and it's time for me to be a little more lenient with my schedule and myself.

---

I'm sharing all of this in the hopes that it will inspire you my dearest Reader.

To first of all, take note of when you need to rebalance, and to secondly, know that it's okay and HEALTHY to have to do so.

So as you go through your own responsibilities today, I want to encourage you that it's okay to rebalance. Even if we've somehow managed a certain routine or schedule for months, sometimes we wake up one day, and it's things are just not working anymore, and that's okay because the fact is just that life changes!

Life changes, people change, and our energy levels change as well. Sometimes our priorities shift, or our needs shift, and that's okay too.

Instead of forcing ourselves to live up to a standard that used to work for us, it's good and healthy to reevaluate when things just aren't life-giving anymore. It's good to realize when we can't handle something like we used to, and when we need a different set of priorities, or even more help in managing our responsibilities.

In my own life, I want to focus on building up my in-person relationships more, and to get back to some of my other hobbies. I of course love video making and writing, but those are only a few of my hobbies. I'm ready to get back behind the sewing machine, and even back into my quieter life of volunteering.

If you need to let up on the gas for awhile, that's okay. If you need to rest your body or your mind, that's okay. If you need extra time to grieve, or to enjoy a particular season of life, that's okay.

Listen to your body and listen to your relationships. Keep a keen ear to the ground to understand what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, and remember that we are put here to love God and to love others; our work is important, but it does not signify our value or our success.

True success for a Believer is loving others and loving the Lord while spreading the good news of Christ: that is all that is required of us, and anything more is an added blessing.

If you are finding that the responsibilities that you once loved have become a burden, I urge you to seek balance. It's not good to work at something until we resent it, when we could have alternatively balanced life out when we were showing signs that our responsibilities had become overwhelming.

Seek help from other people, and seek balance in your life. Go to the Lord, and never feel guilty for reaching out for help: just because something worked for a long stretch of time does not mean that it was meant to work forever.

I know that we don't always have the option of completely walking away from our stress, but I do know that we can always reach out to others for help, and most definitely, reach out to the Lord for guidance and peace.

Wishing you peace on this beautiful day as well.

xoxo,

Cait