I have joined the ranks of caring for an aging parent ten years ago. My son was off to college, I had started my own, growing consulting business and was looking forward to unbridled freedom. Instead, I experienced the unexpected demands that come with taking care of a parent.

I know that I am not alone, because my friends were dealing with providing for their parents in some way.

More than ever, stressful times call for leaning on God for peace and guidance, and what I call Divine time management.

Here’s what I mean…..

The month of December ranked up there as one of the worst months ever. One of our biggest clients that we were depending on pushed back their work to the following month.

On the ninth I received a call from paramedics. My 90 year old mother had fallen and had broken either her leg or hip. She was taken by ambulance to the emergency room.

That night we had our final rehearsal for our choir’s Christmas concert at 7:00PM. Robert and I were in the emergency room from 3:30 to 8:30 that night, missing the rehearsal. The priority was to be there for my mom.

The next day she had surgery. For the entire month of December I was at the hospital making sure she was getting the care she needed and taking care of other details like doing laundry and bringing articles that she requested from her home.

It turned out to be a blessing that our client had to postpone the work. That was Divine time management.

Unfortunately, instead of trusting God and taking care of myself, I allowed myself to become emotionally and physically drained. I was trying to take control of everything once again and not leaving things in God’s hands.

As much as I am an advocate for meditation and slowing down, I allowed the stress of my mother’s accident, the demands of the holidays and all of the care giving tasks to overwhelm me and deplete me of my energy and joy.

In my fragile state, I was hit with a virus that literally knocked me off my feet for four days. Sometimes God needs to get our attention. He seems to want my attention quite often!

The month of December was yet another wake up call for me that God is in charge. I don’t need to be and He doesn’t want me to be.

The more I let go and just be in the present moment, the more at peace and less overwhelmed I feel.

Divine time management means knowing what is the most important thing that we have to do right now. Maybe it’s simply meditating and sitting in God’s presence. Maybe it’s listening to a friend that needs you, even though there’s a deadline looming. God will take care of all of the details when we are doing the right activity at the right time.

It’s important to learn to be still for a moment to catch your breath. Perhaps say the words, “Help God” for God to answer your prayer.

May God’s peace continue to enfold you and let God handle life’s details.

Are you holding on and not letting go? Download cut #5 from my Let it Go CD – 10 Meditative Affirmations to Let Go and Let God, called Letting Go. I’ll also send you the Prayer for Letting Go and Three Steps to Letting Go.