Day 31: ‘Only’ Changes Everything
This largely unedited free-write is linking up with the Write 31 Days Challenge. // indicates the start and stop of five minutes. The prompt word for today is ONLY. Go!
————————♥————————
// “ONLY”… what a beautiful qualifying word.
When the world is overwhelming you, and your TODO list feels never-ending, try adding this simple word to your vocabulary.
‘I still have to do the laundry’ becomes ‘I only have to do the laundry.’
‘There are still four hours until the kids go to sleep’ becomes ‘There are only four hours until the kids go to sleep.’
‘I still have to buy groceries’ becomes ‘I only have to buy groceries.’
‘I can’t do one more thing’ becomes ‘I only have to do one more thing.’
It’s about changing your perspective
This month was one of those overwhelming months for me. 31 Days didn’t sound so long until I actually got started. Then oh… my… word! You’d think the world had come unhitched from its orbit. EVERYONE needed me at once: church, home, work, students, kids, husband. It was ridiculous!
At about the 15-day mark, I had serious doubts as to whether I would even finish the challenge. And now, look at this… we’re here! SUCCESS! And the family and marriage are still intact! Haha!
What was the key?
“ONLY”—It was only 31 days.
- I only need to finish this article today, and then I’ll do something else.
- I’ll only think about this one thing right now, and not worry about everything else at the moment.
- I only need to write this one thing, and then I can go be with the kids or buy more groceries or iron one more shirt (yeah, you heard me, mister ♥).
- This isn’t going to last forever; it’s only 31 days.
'ONLY'—It was only 31 days. 'Only' changes everything! Click To Tweet
I’m sure you’ve heard the age-old adage that says,
“How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
// And so goes the elephant. And so goes the Write 31 Day Challenge. Thank you, dear friends, for going on this lovely journey with me and allowing me to fill your inbox with my ramblings. It was such a privilege to experience Father breathing inspiration and creativity to the dry parts of me each and every day, and knowing that you were right there to enjoy it too.
Until next October, this is me saying…
Phew! Thank You, Jesus, we made it!
————————♥————————
To read more of 31 Days of Mom Awesomeness, click here.
For more information on the Write 31 Days challenge, check out Christina Hubbard’s site!
Look at all the awesomeness you wrote! Thank you thank you for joining the challenge. You added so much!
Haha, you are so encouraging! It was such a pleasure to be involved.
And thank you for organizing us so well! Couldn’t have done it without the support beforehand, the encouragement in the middle, and the praise afterward! ❤️ So appreciate you!
Hi Shauna,
I am a few days behind reading all your 31 days challenge because I just didn’t want it to end. I so looked forward to reading your posts daily. When I knew that we were coming to the end I wanted to savour every day. I know that you started these 31 days saying that you were gearing your writings to moms but not being a mom myself, your thoughts still spoke to me and were encouraging daily. Thank you for taking the time to do this. I love and miss you and Erwin so much.
Wow, Sue! That is perhaps the nicest thing I have heard all week. I often felt bad about filling your inbox with my ramblings for 31 days straight. I am delighted that my writing has ministered to you so much! Thank you for your encouragement. (♥ we miss you too!)