Dear future little one,

The world has a way of pulling you a thousand different directions and then guilt tripping you when you don’t follow through on every single one of them.

I grew up in a family of ten kids. Two are chronically ill, four were adopted through foster care with special needs, and one is me (speaks for itself). Consequently, there are always numerous things going on all the time, just with family. Then there’s school, work, friends, marriage, and church. Oh and somewhere in here I’m also supposed to find time to dedicate to hobbies (what?), volunteer to help the less fortunate, and be a great homemaker. It exhausts me just thinking about it.

Well newsflash! I fail at at least 4 of those things before I finish my breakfast.

And that’s okay.

If you’ve ever talked with someone about being financially secure, then you’ve probably heard them mention the phrase “living within your means”. Meaning that you shouldn’t spend money you don’t have. Well that doesn’t just apply to your wallet, it applies to your sanity too.

So many times we look at our to-do lists and think “How in the world am I going to do all this?!”. But then we stand up and proceed to try and finish every single thing on that list no matter how exhausted we are. And then we beat ourselves up because we didn’t finish the dang list. Stop.

Put down the to-do list.

The Takeaway

Recognize that you don’t just need to live within your financial needs, but your emotional and physical and spiritual needs as well. Budgets apply to more than just your bank account. You are SO MUCH MORE than just a to do list. You are a beautiful, inspiring creation with limitless potential! You have the capacity to think, to grow, and to become something truly amazing. And your to do list isn’t going to get you there. Figuring out what YOU need -emotionally, spiritually, and physically- is.

Yeah, your family and friends still need help. Your church still needs you to do your part. And the less fortunate will always appreciate your time. But the day only has 24 hours for a reason. If you have more on your plate than you can physically or emotionally handle in a 24 hour period, then maybe it’s your to do list, not the number of hours in the day, that needs to change.

Love Always,

Sara