Frankly, many days I do not like being a mother. I feel so defeated. There is always whining, crying, fighting. I don’t like doing the dishes, or the laundry, or cleaning pee off the floor. I don’t like the disobedience and the reprimanding. I don’t like having to deal with the same thing over and over and over again. It’s so frustrating. I feel lost in the day to day life without room to pursue passions or dream or breathe. It wears me down. And I feel lifeless. Why don’t they listen? Why can’t there be peace? Why is it so hard? Why am I not happy?
Read morekeys to our marriage.
When Greg and I were in pre-marital counseling, we were asked to come up with 4 keys to our marriage. The four things that we thought would be the most important, yet not naturally easy, that would keep our marriage strong. I think this is a great exercise for couples. We look at our keys every anniversary and evaluate how well or poorly we used them that year.
Here are our four…
Read morewhy I jumped on the bandwagon.
I have been forced to come to the realization that I have become an emotional wreck. Going through pregnancy and nursing twice has left me a little hormonally unbalanced, or a lot. I have weeks of feeling like I'm in a pit that I can't get out of. Anger and frustration that I've never experienced in my life. Overwhelming sadness. Fear and panic at the littlest things.
Honestly, I had been afraid to talk about it, even to my husband. I would try to hint at how I was feeling, but felt shame over how I really felt on the inside. I am married to a pastor; we do ministry every day. And this is where a lot of my shame has come from. There is a lot of pressure to have everything together when you are leading people in Christ. And sadly, judgment when you don't.
I've had this voice in my head, "You aren't praying enough, trusting enough, reading scripture enough, finding joy in Christ enough."
And though that is always true, there is so much more to grow in Christ; I knew I needed some extra support. I'm pretty to blessed to have the husband I have, though. He graciously brought it up to me that he felt like something was wrong. And I confessed that I had been feeling the same thing. He told me to start searching for ways to help.
I was actually already in a group about essential oils at this time. The very next day after this conversation with my husband, the group discussed how oils support emotional health. I was so intrigued by the research and the personal stories behind them. Oils could be a natural way to help without the side-effects of other options.
Let me tell you, I was super skeptical, but pleasantly surprised. I got the Young Living Premium Starter kit (11 oils), and then ordered a few more that I felt would be beneficial for me during this time. Young Living has a line specifically for emotional support. They really have promoted emotional balance in me in just the month that I have been using them.
I was so surprised with the uses beyond just emotional support (sleep, sickness, kiddos!) that I wanted to share with others what has been working for our family.
Have you been wondering what essential oils are all about? I'd love to be here for you to answer any questions; I have some great friends that know a lot more than me too, so I can ask them if I don't know the answer.
Want to try something out for a specific area? I'd love to order something and send it your way! Some of my favorites are:
- lavender and cedarwood for sleep
- bergamot and grapefruit for uplifting
- Gentle Baby for all things baby
- Progessence Plus for hormonal balance
- Thieves for immune support and just about everything
What's in the starter kit?? 11 oils, a diffuser, and lots of fun samples.
14884632_10100409056496399_7760876553834469292_o
You can grab the kit for yourself here: https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/start?site=US&sponsorid=10917669&enrollerid=10917669
We all have struggles in different areas, and I believe one of the best ways to overcome is to tell a trusted friend. Community does wonders for the things we feel shame about. When we stay in isolation, we give more power to those things. I pray that if you have something you are concerned about, you will reach out to someone to help you battle it head on. I am also here if any of you would like someone to listen; I've been told I have good ears!
In truth,
Kate