I was given a book by a dear friend of mine called A Mother’s Rule of Life by Holly Pierlot. I mostly read it because she is also reading it and I thought it would give us something to chat about together. I get a bit sceptical about self-help books because they always seem to push their worldly advice which often does not ring true with the teachings of the Gospel. (I also get secretly discouraged and think that I suck at my vocation, which is a whole other post.)
That being said, this was actually a very good book and has brought a lot of positive change to our family. The basic principle is that, just like religious orders have a rule or schedule that they follow to help them focus their attention on God, mothers can also benefit from having a schedule of prayer, work, and play.
Holly Pierlot is a VERY organized individual and I am not. I tend to be a little cluttered, a little lazy and a little scared of schedules (mostly because I don’t like to be told what to do, even by myself). Unfortunately my weakness for being a sloth has caught up with my prayer life, my poor floors and the dirty dishes that seem to haunt the sink. As of late I have felt overwhelmed by life. Two weeks ago, thinking I had nothing to loose, I put The Rule into action with surprising results.
My house is cleaner, the dishes are done, I have time to pray in the evening and my husband has noticed the changes in our family life. Spending the time to organize my days means that I don’t worry about the floors being cleaned because I know that it will be done at 3pm when it is scheduled. Of course, having two babies under 2 years old means that The Rule needs to be VERY flexible and accommodate the days then The Screamer doesn’t nap and The Princess wants extra attention. But even on those bad days (when my husband has to come home from work early to save me from my children) we still do family prayer every night at 7:30 and I get to go to out ALONE every Thursday night…and that in itself is worth being told what to do by a book.
I bought this book a few months ago- but I've only skimmed it (oops) time to give it a deeper read
ReplyDeleteGoodness, I know this is an old post, and I am not even sure you will see this comment, but, Kim, I found you today, and was thrilled to read this because I am currently rereading this book. I first read it seven years ago when expecting my 3rd child (and freaking out a little bit about how I was going to do it all with three little children!). Well, all these years later, I found myself losing my mooring, and have begun rereading Holly's book in an effort to right my wayward use of time. I feel like it is an affirmation that I was led here today.
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