{"id":13654,"date":"2012-03-27T07:14:51","date_gmt":"2012-03-27T12:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=13654"},"modified":"2012-03-22T11:21:44","modified_gmt":"2012-03-22T16:21:44","slug":"pray-like-a-mom-not-a-nun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/03\/pray-like-a-mom-not-a-nun\/","title":{"rendered":"Pray Like a Mom, Not a Nun"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Those wise words still echo in my head.\u00a0 They were spoken to me by the priest during confession several years ago.\u00a0 It was Lent and I\u2019d finally decided to get my act together and celebrate the Sacrament.\u00a0 In preparation, though, I had been beating myself up about my lack of a prayer life.\u00a0 Everyone kept telling me, \u201cJust carve out 15 minutes a day\u201d or “Make time to pray the Rosary.”\u00a0 With three children under the age of four, if I had an extra 15 \u00a0minutes then hell would\u2019ve frozen over.\u00a0 Every waking minute was filled with diaper changes, dinner preparation, playing nurse to my older two boys\u2019 escapades, nursing a newborn and refereeing fights.\u00a0 I tried to fit sleep and a shower in there, but I was poorly lacking in those departments, as well.<\/p>\n

In the confessional, Fr. David spoke those words to me and it\u2019s like the burden was lifted, some imaginary yoke I\u2019d put on my shoulders was no longer there.\u00a0 I\u2019d had it all wrong.\u00a0 I was trying to pray for a lifestyle I wasn\u2019t living.<\/p>\n

You see, today, as the busy mom of five, ages 11-2, I needed to find a way to meet God where I was<\/strong>.\u00a0 Funny thing is, He was already there, waiting on me.<\/p>\n

When I was wash the dishes, I give God a shoutout for his vast abundance of food in our home.<\/p>\n

As I fold the laundry, I offer it up for a friend going through a rough time.<\/p>\n

During bedtime, as I read books to my children, I always make note to find at least one religious one so we can read about our faith.<\/p>\n

When we are headed to one of 15 million after-school activities, I tune the radio to the Christian station or pop in a TobyMac CD and we all sing along.\u00a0 Or, if the kids are particularly cantankerous I make them pray five Hail Mary\u2019s to themselves.\u00a0 Works everytime.<\/p>\n

After school, when the neighbors are out playing and I head out the door, I say a quick (as in ten-second) plea to God to allow me to witness to my friends in whatever way He sees fit.<\/p>\n

My husband and I have made it a priority to head to confession every three months and take the older two children with us.<\/p>\n

As I kiss my children goodnight, I feel the flood of thanksgiving for my many blessings and say a silent, \u201cthank you\u201d to their Maker.<\/p>\n

The thing is, my life doesn\u2019t allow for me to pray Liturgy of the Hours every day, say a rosary on a whim, attend daily Mass or spend an hour in adoration every day.\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t make me less of a follower of Christ.\u00a0 No, I actually think knowing my limitations and finding God throughout the day allows me to be the kind of Mom he envisions.\u00a0 I like to say my prayer life is organic.\u00a0 It changes every day, depending upon where I\u2019m called as a Mom.<\/p>\n

I know that someday, in the not too distant future, there won\u2019t be any more diapers to change, food to cut up or little people to herd.\u00a0 My children will be more self-sufficient and I\u2019ll get some time back in my day.\u00a0 Regardless, my vocation is and always will be, motherhood.\u00a0 We pray differently than a nun.\u00a0 And that\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Those wise words still echo in my head.\u00a0 They were spoken to me by the priest during confession several years ago.\u00a0 It was Lent and I\u2019d finally decided to get my act together and celebrate the Sacrament.\u00a0 In preparation, though, I had been beating myself up about my lack of a prayer life.\u00a0 Everyone kept… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-blog","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t