I'm working on 'untying my thoughts' in therapy. My sweet therapist tells me mine are all bound up too tight. I've taken seeking truth and not falling into the trap of relativism a bit too far. It happened when I became serious about my faith. I am uncovering all kinds of thoughts that I have that I didn't even realize were there.
Catholic mothers shouldn't work outside the home.
Catholic families should be big.
God will bless me if I follow the rules.
I should be just like the Proverbs woman.
Some of this came from Catholic media and how I interpreted it. To be clear, I've gained far more than I've lost from Catholic media. Like I said, these thoughts came from my interpretation of what I was reading and hearing. However, I've learned that even with Catholic media, I must be cautious.
The best thing I get from Catholic media is the stories. The blogs. The stories of real women living out their faith on a daily basis.
It's there that I find women who work outside the home for whatever reason. It's there that I find families of all sizes. It's there where I find people who face adversity after adversity and through it all are faithful and loving. It's there that I find women who strive to be that Proverbs woman, yet share the messes and mistakes of life.
Thank you all for sharing your stories and loosening the knots in my head.
Mary, Undoer of Knots, Pray for us
Oh, wow - that list. It's like a little checklist in my head...with a whole lot of others to follow.
ReplyDeleteI don't see her in your blog roll, so I will suggest you read Michelle at Endless Strength (www.michelle-endlessstrength.blogspot.com) - while she does have a big family (5 kids!) she works outside the home and is so beautifully honest in her struggles.
Sending many prayers your way - Mary, undoer of knots, pray for us.
Like Rebecca said ... you're inside my head too! :-) Especially with the "working mother" part. I have a hard time myself being too scrupulous over certain things faith-related.
ReplyDeleteI will pray for you in this area!
Being serious about faith is awesome! But I agree that it's easy to get caught up in knots about it. Balance is so important!
ReplyDeleteBtw, sometimes I want to punch the Proverbs 31 woman in the face. Just saying.
And that you for sharing your stories as well!
ReplyDeleteIf we get blessed with a baby...I will have to work outside of the home too. I don't necessarily want that but right now with the costs of everything going up...it would very tough to make in one income. Eeek.
ReplyDeleteThank you soooo much for this post. I needed to hear it. I have to work and I sometimes think I am less of a Catholic mother. I know, I know. Not true, but I also have these ideas in my head. I would love to read what you learn next.
ReplyDeleteThank you soooo much for this post. I needed to hear it. I have to work and I sometimes think I am less of a Catholic mother. I know, I know. Not true, but I also have these ideas in my head. I would love to read what you learn next.
ReplyDeleteI love this image of Mary! I am stressing out a lot lately about going back to work and trying to figure out a way to stay home...we shall see, but yeah, a lot of what you wrote about above resounded with me. Thank you for your honesty.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this I went and read about the Proverbs woman again, and I don't know where to start with her... Please pass along any wisdom you gain with all this - many similar things have been on my mind, too.
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