Victory Over Daily Demons

Photo credits: pixabay.com

I am a warrior princess, and so are you. Daily I face battles with demons. I’m betting you face some of the same demons, disguised as:

•   mountains of laundry and dishes, and dust bunnies (or dust behemoths depending on where you look any given day)
•   children’s bickering, teenage drama, hormones (theirs and mine), and mood swings
•   marital struggles
•  grief from the loss of loved ones
• chronic illness and pain
• depression and anxiety (which lead to seasons of battling the demon of just getting out of bed in the morning)
• procrastination and perfectionism

Now that I’ve demonized much of what we face each day, let me remind you that we are not only warriors, we are warrior princesses.

We are daughters of The King.

These demons only pile up and overwhelm us when we give them power. “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV). Self-discipline used to be an intimidating phrase for me as a perfectionist, as I felt it meant I should be constantly working on making something better.

Do you also have a skewed mindset of having to get tasks done to an exhausting, often unattainable, level? I look in the corner of my living room as I am writing this and gaze upon a box of papers that need to be filed or tossed. Because I can’t get it all done today, with the myriad of other “demons” pressing at me, I ignore it…for months. The dust bunnies become behemoths. After all, I can’t vacuum there until I empty the box (perfectionism). It can snowball further, but there is hope even when your snowball has become a giant, menacing snowman.

My wise aunt gave me the most amazing and freeing advice at my first baby shower. She said I had an excuse for the next 18 years to have a totally unkempt house. Thank goodness I had a second child a few years later so I could extend that quickly approaching deadline!

I joyfully remind my aunt of her words when she comes to visit, and I gladly share this nugget of wisdom with other moms I meet. There are more important things in this season of life to focus on, and I prayerfully ask God to direct my attention where it needs to be each day.

Jesus also reminds us of our domestic misguidance when we are like Martha, “worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen that which is better, and it will not be taken away from her” Luke 10:41-42 (NIV). Choose wisely and learn to be content in the season you are in.

There are other messes left untouched today, and that’s okay. I tell my friends they are welcome to visit as long as they realize we actually live in our home, and that they must leave feeling better about their own clutter. I even recently texted pictures to a friend because she was concerned about my daughter coming to visit her home for the first time.

I’m not advocating an unhealthy or dangerous living environment; however, I'm adamant about having perspective. I would much rather empower a mom to feel better about her real life situation than continue down a path of comparison to perfectly kept homes, manicured lawns, and kids outfitted in the latest fashions. I don’t have the time, money or energy for all that. As Mark Twain wisely stated, “Comparison is the death of joy.”

When God created the world, what did he say after each step? He didn’t say “it was perfect,” He said, “it was good”. Did you notice how earlier I said we face these battles? We don’t have to actually fight every battle every day.

We must prayerfully choose which battles we are ready and equipped to fight, and realize when that particular battle is fought to the point of being good enough for that day.

My kids have precious few years before they leave the nest to fly on their own. That entire box of paperwork I’ve allowed to accumulate shouldn’t be tackled in a single day in this season of my life. I don’t need to waste time shuffling papers when a bigger picture is right in front of me. If I spend 15 minutes on it, good enough. If something else comes up that needs my attention and I don’t even get to the box, well, that’s okay too.

We each have to define good enough in our current season of life. You may be in a season when at the end of the day good enough means you have fed and cared for your children’s basic needs, they haven’t killed each other, and nothing else got done. If this scenario fits you, well done and please go get some much deserved rest. By finding your good enough, you will begin to find contentment.

Now it’s your turn. There is power in sharing this life we live as moms. Sometimes we just need to hear from other moms, to know we’re not alone in our struggles. What tips do you have for finding good enough and battling your own daily demons? What is your good enough? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.