69 | Too Busy to Discern Your Purpose as a Catholic Mom? Begin Here

Speaker A: 00:00:00

I almost picture it like a giant boulder that's rolling behind us with all the responsibilities, the tasks, the pressure and that mental load just constantly chasing after us day in, day out. But when we look at Mary, we see something different.

Are you struggling to discern your purpose while you're juggling everything that motherhood demands?

Do you find yourself you're just so exhausted that by the end of the day you're ready to call it a day, leaving little to no time to focus on things that God may be placing on your heart?

Maybe you keep feeling that gentle nudge that you were created for more, but between the responsibilities of motherhood, the mental load and the busyness of your life, you're wondering how am I even supposed to make space for that too?

In today's episode, we're talking about how to make space for what God is calling you to in that middle of motherhood, why busyness can sometimes distract us from sitting with Jesus and how to begin taking small, faithful steps towards your God given purpose without feeling overwhelmed. Take a moment for yourself, get comfy and let's do this.

If you're tired of feeling unsure about your purpose because you don't know how to hear God clearly and you want simple, faith rooted steps to discern his will and move forward with confidence, you're in the right place. I'm Michelle Cradle, Catholic mom of three and a discernment coach for Catholic women.

I learn how to move from confusion and overthinking to to hearing God's voice clearly and moving forward with confidence in his will. If you're ready to grow closer to God, begin discerning how God uniquely made you and experience mindset, transformation.

Grab that laundry, pop in those earbuds and let's do this.

If you've been putting off figuring out how to find your purpose because it just feels overwhelming or like you don't have the time, I wanna make this simple for you. You don't need a perfect season. You don't need hours to sit and figure everything out. You just need a clear, guided place to again.

That's what I offer inside my discernment coaching sessions.

In our time together, I will walk you through a simple faith rooted process so that you can stop overthinking and start taking a clear next step with God.

If you're ready to make this feel simple instead of overwhelming, you can learn more or book your session@michellebrannam.com/coaching that is MichelleBrannam.com/coaching and the link is also in the episode description as well.

I've been in your shoes, and honestly, I'm still in the trenches of balancing motherhood, marriage, responsibilities at home, and just trying to intentionally spend daily time with God.

I had two little ones back to back, and I know how hard it can be to find those pockets of time for yourself in the middle of taking care of everyone else. As moms, we just carry so much. Every single day.

We're balancing the housework, laundry, dishes, schedules, taking care of our kids, and all the little responsibilities that are in between. And by the end of the day, it can feel like there's barely anything left of us.

And I know for me, once my kids are both awake for the day, it's diaper changes, feeding them, settling those sibling disputes, taking care of the house. I'm caring for our Yorkie and trying to keep everything afloat until bedtime.

Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I found myself struggling to make time not only for myself, but also for God and the purpose that he placed on my heart. And honestly, sometimes that still sneaks up on me.

Even today, even now, there are still moments where that overwhelm, it tries to creep back in as I'm balancing the motherhood, while I'm also trying to live out the mission that God has called me to through this podcast and serving others. And maybe you felt that too, like there's this desire on your heart to grow closer to God, to discern your purpose or use the gift somehow.

But you're wondering, how do I actually make space for that in the middle of motherhood? And that's what I want to talk about today. Struggling to discern your purpose while juggling everything that motherhood demands.

It can feel overwhelming, leaving you tired, and you're feeling like there's not that much time left to even think about your purpose. As mothers, we have a lot on our plates that we're juggling every single day.

It's tending to the housework, taking care of the kids, the appointments, schedules, laundry, dishes, all the little things that constantly need our attention as mothers. By the end of the day, it can just leave us feeling exhausted and like we have nothing left to give.

And sometimes, because we are so focused on everyone else, we feel like there's just. There's no room left for us to slow down, decompress, pray, reflect, or, you know, even think about the things that God has placed on our hearts.

Life will always find a way to fill up our time. Am I right? There will always be another load of Laundry to do, dishes in the sink, another notification, another thing just pulling at our attention.

And the work of motherhood is never truly done. And if we're not careful, that busyness can completely take over and crowd out the things that God may be placing on our hearts.

This is where I like to think about Martha and Mary. In Scripture, Martha was busy preparing, serving, worrying about all the things that needed to get done.

And honestly, as moms, I think many of us, we can relate to Martha because there's just always something needing our attention. And yes, those responsibilities matter. They're essential. The housework needs to get done, our children need us and our responsibilities matter.

y things. And that is in Luke: 10:41

I almost picture it like a giant boulder that's rolling behind us with all the responsibilities, the tasks, the pressure, and that mental load just constantly chasing after us day in, day out. But when we look at Mary, we see something different. Mary, she sat at the feet of Jesus.

She slowed down enough to listen to him and to give him her attention. And I think sometimes we believe we simply need more time when we really, what we need is attentional space with God.

It's hard to hear God clearly when we're constantly overwhelmed and we're mentally distracted. It requires listening and it requires making space to sit with Jesus.

So when we give Jesus our time and our attention, he brings that peace into the overwhelm.

And when we give him the gifts, the talents, the desires that he's placed on our hearts, he can do amazing things through those when we allow him to lead not only in our lives, but in the lives of others around us. That's what living your unique God given purpose is really about.

You're glorifying God and you're serving others through the way that he uniquely created you.

And I think one of the biggest mindset struggles that we have as moms is just believing if we don't have hours of free time, then we really can't do anything with our purpose that God has placed in our hearts.

We can start believing things like, I'll work on it when life slows down, when the kids are older, when I have more energy, when I finally have hours of free time. But that reality is life may not slow down for a long time.

You don't have to have everything figured out before you begin, but there has to be a deep desire and a willingness within you to pursue the purpose that God has placed on your heart.

Otherwise, it just stays as maybe someday I'll do it later, when life slows down and when something truly matters to us, we begin finding those pockets of time because there's something inside of us that's pulling us towards it. God does not reveal the whole entire roadmap all at once. Instead, he reveals to you the next step. We just need to take that one step.

So what is that next step? What is God asking me to do next? What is the one thing that I can do that moves me forward? Maybe it's spending 10 minutes in prayer.

Maybe it's journaling. Maybe it's listening to that nudge that you keep feeling. You don't need perfect clarity before taking action.

You just need to take that next faithful step with God.

And if you're not sure where to begin, I created a short free God Given Purpose quiz to help guide you and you can find that@michellebrandom.com purposequiz that is one word and the link is also in the episode description as well. Now I really want to encourage you though today that your motherhood and your God given purpose, they're not competing against each other.

God is not asking you to carry everything all at once or have the entire life figured out. Today he's asking you just to walk with him, to spend time with him, to allow him to lead you one step at a time. You were chosen by Jesus.

God created you intentionally with those gifts, those desires of purpose. They are not random. He wants to work through your life, your story, the unique way that he created you to serve others and glorify Him.

You don't need to have the entire roadmap before you begin. And maybe today, instead of asking yourself, how am I going to do all of this? Maybe the better question is, lord, what are you asking me to do next?

Holy Spirit, help me hear your voice and guide me one step at a time.

Now if this resonates with you and you're wanting support, discerning your purpose and taking your next step with God because you're feeling so overwhelmed, that's exactly what I help Catholic moms walk through inside my discernment coaching sessions. Together we'll simplify the process so you can just stop overthinking and you can begin moving forward with clarity and confidence alongside God.

You can learn more@michellebrannam.com/coaching and the link is also in the episode description as well.

So today I really want you to remember this and anchor into this that motherhood and your God given purpose are not competing against each other busyness. It can easily consume our attention, which is why we need intentional time with Jesus and space to hear him.

You don't need the entire roadmap before you begin God. He reveals the next step, one step at a time. So instead of asking yourself, how am I going to do all of this?

Ask yourself, lord, what are you asking me to do next? Holy Spirit, help me to hear your voice and guide me. Now let's take this to prayer before I leave you with an actionable step for this week.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit God, help me to quiet the noise and to hear your voice today. Help us to slow down enough to spend time with you in the middle of the busyness. Show us the next step and give us the courage to take it with you.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Now let's take this from head to heart. Knowing this is powerful, but that real change happens when you take action, even one small step.

Today I want you to create a little space. Grab your journal or even a piece of paper and reflect on these what is God asking me to do next?

What is the one thing that I can do that moves me forward? And then come share inside the Facebook community Finding youg Purpose, Discernment and Strategy for Catholic Moms.

And remember my beautiful sister in Christ, that God uniquely created you for a unique purpose. You were made to do great things. God is within you and you will not fail. I look forward to continuing this journey with you.

I'll meet you next Tuesday for another conversation. Until then, may God bless you and give you peace. I hope you enjoyed today's episode.

If so, take 30 seconds to share it with a friend who's feeling unsure about her purpose and wants simple, faith filled steps to discern God's will. And if you learned something today, please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts. It lights me up to know that this show is helping you.

Okay, time to tackle that laundry and unload that dishwasher. Gotta go. I'll see you next Tuesday for another conversation.