"I'm so overwhelmed!" In the past week I've heard this statement from three different young moms. Their frustrated cries reminded me of a particular catch up day that ended with a similar cry and real tears, "I give up!"

That morning so many years ago I realized I was slowly sliding into depression over the undone tasks and the dirty laundry that had piled up while I cared for a sick child and responded to urgent ministry needs. I had read that stay at home moms struggled with depression because they had to do the same tasks over and over again. Laundry, meals, dusting, vacuuming. No matter how many times we do these jobs, we know we will have to do them again and again and again. After identifying a cause for my blue moods, I developed a plan for those moments of feeling overwhelmed. I made a list of tasks I could finish that day that would not have to be redone the next. I know, I was fooling myself because two days later I would have to redo them! But the 24 hours of relief was worth the deception to my brain! Each time I checked off a completed job, my spirits lifted a little more.

At the top of my to do list that particular day was the laundry. My goal was to not only wash, dry and fold the clothes but to put them all away before the dinner. My day was humming along, the house was filled with the good scent of a roast in the crock pot. I had finished the vacuuming and dusting, made phone calls to women's Bible study leaders and finished preparing my Bible study lecture for the next day. The check marks on my to do list were growing! I thought about how God told Cain that if he would do what was right, his countenance would rise. My countenance rose with every finished task! This plan worked!

The dryer buzzer went off and I smiled as I realized I was almost finished. Fold this load and put the last load in the dryer. Then I could rest while the last load dried. Then I would carry the three baskets of clean laundry upstairs to put away. I smiled as I walked to the laundry room with a sense of taking back control of my life.

Oh no. And I don't have an exclamation point at the end of that sentence for a reason. Oh no. For reasons I still don't remember (I think my mind went blank) the washer had overflowed. Water on the floor, not just on the floor, but deep enough for the folded, clean clothes in the baskets to act as sponges. Most of the clothes were wet.

Now what? I stood in the doorway, wanting to cry, get angry, blame someone! Of course, God reminded me of the Bible study I had just prepared and I knew this was a teaching moment, delivered to my anxious heart.

Just then, our kids arrived home from school.

Overwhelmed? You bet!

Are you feeling my pain? How have you responded to similar moments? How should I respond? How do you take control of your life? Any tips for dismantling that overwhelmed feeling?

Oops, I just remembered five things on my to do list that need my attention right now. I'll finish this entry later when I'm not so overwhelmed!

In His grip,
Sharon