Latest / HAVE FAITH LET IT BEGIN® / S8: EP: 2369: Patience Series Ep 2: Making Time for your Children while making time for yourself

Transcript

S8: EP: 2369: Patience Series Ep 2: Making Time for your Children while making time for yourself · HAVE FAITH LET IT BEGIN®

• 0:05
  Welcome to Half-Faith, Let It Begin. This is Ariel Santana.
• 0:09
  Can you believe I'm seven years old already? I'm old enough now to introduce my dad.
• 0:15
  Ladies and gentlemen, your host, my dad, Angel Santana.
• 0:22
  Two thousand came and the spark was lit. A testimony raw, it wouldn't quit.
• 0:27
  It's mother's voice, a guiding thread.
• 0:54
  Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Wednesday episode, making time for your
• 0:58
  children while making time for yourself.
• 1:01
  My name is Angel Santana. This is Half Faith, Let It Begin podcast,
• 1:04
  and we continue our series on patience.
• 1:08
  Now, yesterday, we talked about patience with children, but today,
• 1:12
  we're talking about something that many parents struggle with and rarely admit out loud.
• 1:19
  How do you make time for your children while still making time for yourself?
• 1:24
  Because, let's be truthful now, parents are exhausted, I'm exhausted,
• 1:30
  between work, school, sports, cooking, cleaning, appointments,
• 1:35
  church, and the ever-popular bills, and trying to survive the week.
• 1:40
  Sometimes parents feel like they're running on fumes, and somewhere in the middle
• 1:45
  of taking care of everybody else, they stop taking care of themselves.
• 1:49
  So today, let's talk about balance, burnout, guilt, and why taking care of yourself is not selfish.
• 1:59
  Have faith, let it begin. Starts right now. You know, one thing that I've learned
• 2:06
  is that parents carry invisible pressure.
• 2:10
  There's this constant feeling that you have to do everything perfect.
• 2:16
  Or perfectly, I should say. Be present, be patient, be available,
• 2:22
  be strong, be encouraging.
• 2:25
  And then after all that, you still have to somehow find energy for yourself.
• 2:32
  I remember having moments where
• 2:35
  I'd finally sit down after a long day and think, okay, now I can breathe.
• 2:40
  But then at that very second, immediately, there's another responsibility,
• 2:44
  another need, another thing that needs your attention.
• 2:48
  And over time, you're not careful. If you're not careful, you start losing pieces of yourself.
• 2:55
  So you stop resting, you stop laughing, and you stop doing the little things
• 3:01
  that refill your spirit.
• 3:04
  And sometimes parents feel guilty, even thinking about taking a break.
• 3:09
  I know I do at times, but here's the real truth to it all. Rest is not weakness.
• 3:15
  See, Jesus rested. Even Christ stepped away from crowds to pray,
• 3:22
  breathe, and reconnect with peace.
• 3:24
  So why do we convenience ourselves that exhaustion is somehow holy?
• 3:31
  Hmm, it's not. Burnout helps nobody.
• 3:35
  Not you, not your spouse, not your children.
• 3:38
  Because children don't just need present parents. They need healthy parents.
• 3:44
  Emotionally healthy, spiritually healthy, mentally healthy. and sometimes making
• 3:51
  time for yourself is actually one of the best things that you can do for your
• 3:56
  family. So let's reflect on this.
• 3:59
  Now, I'm not saying every parent needs a luxury vacation tomorrow,
• 4:03
  although I know some parents that do that. Nevermind, not judging.
• 4:06
  I'm talking about some small moments. Maybe it's sitting quietly with a cup
• 4:11
  of coffee before the house wakes up. I do that.
• 4:14
  Making, maybe it's, let's see, taking time for a walk.
• 4:18
  I walk my dog, Cody. Maybe it's a prayer time Maybe it's laughing with friends
• 4:23
  Maybe it's listening to music in the car for 10 minutes Before walking into the house after work.
• 4:29
  Those little moments matter because when your spirit gets refreshed,
• 4:34
  your patience grows, your kindness grows, your ability to handle stress changes.
• 4:41
  And I think many parents need permission to hear this today.
• 4:46
  Here, case in point, I'm doing this episode. Noah's right now to my left.
• 4:49
  He's playing on a video game. He's having fun.
• 4:52
  I can't not record for you guys or myself. So we compromise.
• 4:57
  You are allowed to breathe. You're allowed to recharge.
• 5:01
  You're allowed to take care of yourself too.
• 5:05
  So let me close with this. Today, every parent listening, you are doing better than you think.
• 5:12
  Even on the messiest days, even on the loud days, even on the overwhelming days,
• 5:18
  give yourself grace because your children don't need perfection. They need love.
• 5:25
  They need presence.
• 5:27
  They need the healthiest version of you possible.
• 5:32
  Let's pray. Heavenly Father, today we pray for every parent,
• 5:35
  grandparent, caregiver, and guardian carrying heavy responsibility.
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  Give them strength when they feel tired, peace when they feel overwhelmed,
• 5:44
  and wisdom to balance caring for the others while also caring for themselves.
• 5:51
  Remind them that they are never alone. And we ask this of you.
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  In Jesus' name we pray, amen. So we are on a series.
• 5:58
  So tomorrow, Have Faith, Let It Begin, we'll talk about patience with the process,
• 6:03
  learning to trust God even when life feels delayed.
• 6:08
  Until then, never forget to have faith and let it begin.
• 6:13
  Can you guys guess what game he's playing? Because I have no clue. See you tomorrow. Bye.