Everyone’s Planning Their Summer

Summer’s here and you have every good intention to create a masterful summer fun list like you found here or on Pinterest, right?

The problem is that, when feeling chronically ill, your body says, “No way!” You may feel more and more overwhelmed the more you peruse the internet or talk to your friends about what they’re doing, and lament that your summer probably won’t look like anything you see or hear about. You’re feeling guilty, trapped in self-pity and know that because you feel awful you aren’t going to be able to do any of it. Is that where you’re at? Your mind says, “yes” and your body simply says “no”.

My friend, you are not alone!

The Mom Guilt

I’ve been where you are at! Mom guilt is the dichotomy of good intentions. Lack of energy, feeling overwhelmed and, at times, hopeless, along with dealing with a very sick body weighed me down too. It was extremely discouraging.

I found out there was a solution though and, by God’s grace, I have healed. Summer is once again enjoyable and something I look forward too. However, summertime looks different every year for us and the season is not the same as it used to be with crazy running out our ears.

Summertime can be renewed for you as well!

As Moms, We Are So Hard on Ourselves

We want our kids to have the best summer days and fond memories and we want those days to look like what everyone else’s does. Yet, real life happens.

We get sick.

We have to take time to heal.

We have lots of bad days.

We don’t have the energy and often we don’t have the brain power.

Believe it or not, this is the blessing of life though. As incompatible as sickness and blessing sound, I want to reassure you that through these blessings of living out real life, our children get to go through it with us.

They have the opportunity to grow in:

• Compassion
• Understanding
• Grace
• Selflessness
• Servanthood (as they get their eyes off themselves and onto others)

Those of us who are chronically ill and haven’t yet recovered or are in the middle of an autoimmune flare, need to have grace on ourselves and rest in the fact that God has this perfectly planned out.

He is growing you and your family in ways you may not be able to see right now.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

2 Corinthians 12:8-9

What Can You Do to Survive The Summer with Chronic Illness?

With the proper perspective, you can enjoy your summer even if you’re not feeling good. Be sure to remember the points I mentioned above in how your kids will grow tremendously even when your life doesn’t look like the Pinterest pins. {Honestly, nobody’s life always looks like that anyway.}

First, You’ll Need to Surrender Your “Shoulds”

You need to surrender your good intentions and “shoulds” to the Lord. After all, His ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9) and He has a perfect reason and purpose that we may need to forego the ideal summer list this year.

What this looks like practically is coming to God in prayer, confessing that you have put your plans and intentions above His. Then, asking Him for forgiveness and that He will give you the strength and patience to be in His will every day no matter how different it looks from the day you have planned. Ask Him to change your heart and give you contentment only He can give.

The other area you may need to confess to the Lord is how you may have fallen into the trap of comparison and how you may be letting the enemy rob you of the blessings God has for you. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, yet our Jesus wants to give life abundantly.

However, that abundant life almost always does not match how you’re seeing life portrayed by your friends and strangers on the internet. Confessing brings awareness and the state of your heart into the light where God can do a mighty work. With your willingness, He will mold it into something beautiful!

The Summer I Handed It Over

One summer, I was still in the thick of my healing journey and I had a choice to surrender or fight and strive to have the summer that I thought we should have.

Our summer did not even come close to all those Pinteresty type ones I was seeing all over the blogosphere and even among my friends.

In fact, our summer might have been defined as downright boring. However, we all grew in our faith and health during that time.

I didn’t have a choice but to focus on healing and enlist my supporters to help with the daily tasks. My kids pitched in and grew in compassion and understanding. I had to let go of my expectations and allow God to be glorified in the way He was choosing to allow our summer to play out.

Though our summer wasn’t filled to the brim with things to do, I look back on that season with thankfulness because it’s in that rest and downtime that I healed and that my kids began to understand that being home is OK and helping the hurting is what God wants.

The pressure we, as moms, put on ourselves to do and to strive is NOT OF THE LORD. He wants us to rest and heal and focus on Him.

How Can You Yield Your Summer?

Instead of a summer filled with going places and myriads of activities and entertainment, your summer can be filled with sweet kiddo snuggles, naps, some good books and movies and a whole lot of grace, love and compassion. When you let your mind be at ease with that kind of summer, you will find peace.

Rest in the surrender my, friend!

It’s OK not to do a summer list or have a bustling summer. God knows exactly what you need. Dwell in the Lord and do as the Bible says, getting rid of all guilt and pressure you are putting on yourself and give it up to our sweet Jesus.

You will find peace, joy and contentment and you may even look back on the summer you didn’t feel good as one of the most memorable and extraordinary ones!