Igloos, Popcorn, and the Rosary Priest
One balancing work and family PLUS Lenten ideas for families!
“God will never call you to something that contradicts your primary vocation.”
This was the advice I received from a trusted friend several years ago, when I was wrestling with the apparent contradiction between my vocation as a stay-at-home mom and my budding desire to become an author.
A few years, podcasts, and books later, and I still wrestle with that tension. I agree with the sentiment in principle, but I know all too well that I don’t live out that balance perfectly. Too often, find myself neglecting one call for the sake of the other.
When I had the opportunity to attend the CatholicMom.com contributor’s retreat - the first in my nearly 6 years as a contributor - I jumped at the chance. Yet, as I boarded my cross-country flight and faced the real possibility of being snowed in on the other end, my recurring doubts about spending time away from my family resurfaced.
It it really okay to leave my 2-year-old behind?
Am I kidding myself when I think of my writing as a sacred call? Am I really just being overindulgent in my personal hobby?
What if we get snowed in and my selfish desire to attend this event costs my husband time at work?
As God’s grace poured in throughout the weekend, these doubts began to subside. Through concrete reminders large and small, I received a renewed sense of belonging and call.
Still, the mom guilt is real.
Even in the midst of all these graces, I couldn’t squash the niggling feeling that this work and time for events like this one are things that ought to wait until my children are grown.
You’re missing time you’ll never get back.
This is a burden to your husband.
Your family should come first.
Then, I saw the picture of the igloo.
My husband sweetly sent several texts updates to apprise me of all the fun they were having while I was away: a living room campout, fast food mom never buys, a snowy bike ride to breakfast, and a real-life igloo they build together in the backyard —large enough for all six of us to shiver in together.
If I had been home, this igloo and the living room campout with Dad likely wouldn’t have happened. We would have done some other nice thing as a family, I’m sure.
But my absence made way for my husband to lean in to his fatherly vocation in a new way. Our kids have priceless, life-long of special time with their dad because I stepped out of the picture.
Balance is a tricky thing. Try standing on one foot or surfing a wave. The act of balancing is never static; it invariably involves constant adjustment. It often involves falling.
Anyone who has ever attempted a tree pose knows that balance is made much easier by fixing one’s eyes to a particular spot. A fixed gaze steadies you, makes balance easier, and makes falls much less likely.
If you, like me, struggle to strike the perfect balance between your many responsibilities, allow me to suggest fixing your gaze on Christ. It steadies you, makes balance easier, and makes falls much less likely.
And it just might include a few surprise igloos along the way.
To Jesus Through Mary,
Samantha
Author Updates
Writing Across the Web
Since my last update, I have had a couple of new pieces come out across the web. I shared “How to Start Bible Journaling” at Blessed Is She, and was inspired by a homeschooling course my daughter and I are doing on the history of medicine to write about the demonization of dissent. Crisis Magazine was kind enough to publish that article titled “RFK and the Silencing of Dissent.”
Podcast Updates
New episodes have come out on the Mama Prays podcast. I am excited to share them with you!
Also, be on the lookout for some stellar interviews with Catholic authors, starting Feb 21!
Lenten Ideas for Families
Family Movie Night for Mardi Gras!
My family and I were FLOORED by the life-changing story of “the Rosary Priest” Venerable Fr. Patrick Peyton. Here’s my proposal for you to grow in prayer as a family this Lent:
On Mardi Gras Tuesday, celebrate with buckets of popcorn, movie theater candy, and settle in for Pray: The Story of Fr. Patrick Peyton. My husband and oldest were blown away when we watched it together (and with a run time of 1 hr and 11 minutes, is very doable even for short attention spans).
Watching the film together as a family is so inspiring and motivating — the best jumping off point to praying the rosary as a family.
This is the perfect entre into integrating some form of the Family Rosary as your Lenten practice this year!
Here are some ideas for making the time:
Sacrifice music in the car and replace with an audio rosary for 20+ minute drives.
Sacrifice TV time after dinner and recite together as a family. For couples with littles, you can do a single decade with them and finish after bedtime, or simply pray together on behalf of your family. It counts!
Pray one decade every morning at breakfast for a full rosary during the week!
Schedule alarms throughout the day and pause for a decade at each interruption (we like the church bell alarm on the iphone). Yielding to the clang of the bells is a practice in the virtue of obedience!
CatholicMom.com Lenten Calendar
If you are looking for a simple Lenten challenge for your family this year, I urge you to check out the CatholicMom.com Lenten Calendar!
It has a simple prayer activity or challenge for each day of Lent, and if your kids are anything like mine, they will LOVE checking off the challenge each day.
The link below will take you to the page with the downloadable calendar (I recommend the legal size if you have the paper handy), as well as a library of recipes for meatless meals for Lenten Fridays! Who doesn’t need help meal planning??
You’ll also find FREE printable Catholic coloring pages for every month of the year as well as the rosary (as a homeschooling mom, I really appreciate these!). The coloring page for Ash Wednesday is listed under Feb.
We are excited to dive into the challenge using our CatholicMom.com Lenten Calendar this year, and I hope you will too!
Books: Mama Prays | Reclaiming Motherhood from a Culture Gone Mad
Web: www.snstephenson.com