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	<title>Lessons Learnt Journal &#187; Gratefulness</title>
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		<title>To My Fellow Exhausted Parents</title>
		<link>http://lessonslearntjournal.com/to-my-fellow-exhausted-parents/</link>
		<comments>http://lessonslearntjournal.com/to-my-fellow-exhausted-parents/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Sep 2013 14:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Pauline]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[More]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parenting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gratefulness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lena Horne]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parents]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://lessonslearntjournal.com/?p=11869</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Am I exhausted because I have a billion things to do and not enough time to do it? Am I exhausted because I am a stay at home mother with four kids, aged five and under? Am I exhausted because I have a 5 year old boy who wakes up at the crack of dawn [...]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://lessonslearntjournal.com/to-my-fellow-exhausted-parents/">To My Fellow Exhausted Parents</a> by <a rel="nofollow" href="http://lessonslearntjournal.com/author/admin/">Pauline</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://lessonslearntjournal.com">Lessons Learnt Journal</a>.</p>
]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Am I exhausted because I have a billion things to do and not enough time to do it? Am I exhausted because I am a stay at home mother with four kids, aged five and under? Am I exhausted because I have a 5 year old boy who wakes up at the crack of dawn and repeatedly declares loudly, &#8220;It&#8217;s morning! It&#8217;s morning!&#8221; till the whole house is awake with him? Am I exhausted because I went to bed at 2am the night before, because I worked on <a href="http://lessonslearntjournal.com" title="Lessons Learnt Journal">this blog</a> during those precious uninterrupted hours after the children go to bed? </p>
<p><img src="http://lessonslearntjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/To-My-Fellow-Exhausted-Parents-via-Lessons-Learnt-Journal-1.jpg" alt="To My Fellow Exhausted Parents via Lessons Learnt Journal (1)" width="650" height="892" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-11933" /></p>
<p>As a <a href="http://lessonslearntjournal.com/about-pauline-lessons-learnt-journal" title="About Pauline Lessons Learnt Journal">mother of young children</a>, I can become completely overwhelmed with the load that I have before me.</p>
<p>How do I carry this load? </p>
<p>I am grateful for my husband. I am grateful for my family and friends. I am grateful for children who nap. These are the everyday, practical ways I am supported while I carry my load. However, I realise that when my load becomes overwhelming, it is usually self-inflicted.</p>
<p>I drive myself to exhaustion because I am restless with discontent. The world works on a system of work &#038; reward; the harder you work, the more rewards you will reap. Though I&#8217;m not saying we should all just give up and become sluggards, the belief, that to get the most out of life, you have to work and work and work &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; is a lie. It&#8217;s never enough. The more you have, the more you want. It never ends.</p>
<p>Exhaustion, restlessness and discontent is humbling. It makes me realise my limitations. It makes me realise how much I need rest. </p>
<p>How do I carry this load? I am grateful that I have a God who is my maker, redeemer and saviour. He says, &#8220;Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.&#8221; (Matthew 11:28).</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not the load that breaks you down, it&#8217;s the way you carry it.&#8221; ~ Lena Horne.</p>
<p>My load won&#8217;t break me down because someone who is loving and very able, has taken away my heavy load. I don&#8217;t need to be restless with discontent. I can rest, and be content. For this, I am very grateful.</p>
<p><strong>What makes you exhausted? How do you carry your load?</strong></p>
<div align="center">September 2013</div>
<div align="center"> <a href="http://lessonslearntjournal.com"><img alt="Activities for Children Life With Kids Lessons Learnt Journal" src="http://lessonslearntjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Lessons-Learnt-Journal-Life-With-Kids.jpg"/></a> </div>
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<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="http://lessonslearntjournal.com/to-my-fellow-exhausted-parents/">To My Fellow Exhausted Parents</a> by <a rel="nofollow" href="http://lessonslearntjournal.com/author/admin/">Pauline</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="http://lessonslearntjournal.com">Lessons Learnt Journal</a>.</p>
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