Yep, girl. One-hundred percent. Any mama can tell you she’s had to sneak away into the silence of a closet to get away from it. 

She’s had to raise her voice to try and shout over it.

And likely, she’s lost her ever-loving mind on her kiddos or on her spouse or maybe even on her sister who stopped by to check-in just because all the noise gets to her. It just does. 

And I know that might be difficult for some to believe. Not these sweet babies. The ones who don’t interrupt teachers or talk over friends or cause any ruckus at all in the classroom. 

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Surely, they’re not the same ones chasing each other through the house and jumping off the couch like maniacs and yelling at the top of their lungs to tell on someone. 

The reality is there’s just so much literal noise we deal with every day inside our homes.

And it’s no wonder we’ve got to get a break. And get away. And hand off our parenting shift to whoever comes through the door next.

And yet so often, when we get that break, we wind up reverting to the same ole routine.

We grab our phones. We scroll our feeds.

And we encounter the second, more subtle kind of noise parents contend with.

That’s when we see ALL THE THINGS we didn’t even know we needed. We read all the warnings to avoid. “This” is toxic. “That” is a necessity. “So and so” is trying it with their kids, so maybe I should, too?

And the noise slides itself under the closed closet door to find us. And the peace we wanted slips away. 

Friend, let’s TURN IT OFF.

We can choose what to listen to.

I’ve found my only source of sustainable peace comes from the Lord as I remind myself He is good no matter what. He is for me. He’s for my family and will use all the chaos to bring about a changed heart. My changed heart. 

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A heart that feels more grateful than grumpy.

A heart that wants help instead of hopelessness. 

We can also listen to our bodies.

When we’re pressed and stretched to the limit, we know to rest. Rest our bodies and our thoughts.

Our children are learning to use their voiceschildhood is chaotic and challenging and loud. And this world will keep on trying to distract us and disillusion us and fight to steal our joy away.

So, let’s fight back. 

Let’s be willing to offer someone a break.

And take the time we need to step away and slow down ourselves.

Because life just gets so loud. 

There’s no shame in admitting we’ve got to take a break. 

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Jaclyn Warren

Stay-at-home mommy of four on mission to encourage parents to savor the meaningful in the midst of the messy. Take your 15 minutes; it’s your turn for timeout. You can find her at www.mommys15minutes.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Mommys15Minutes-543229312706302/.

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