Finding ways to connect with God in spite of a busy schedule

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As a Christian, I have long known the importance of spending time talking to God and reading His Word. As a mom, I know how hard it can be to work in that time! It can be challenging to have a minute to even complete a thought or a sentence without interruption, let alone have quiet time for prayer and devotions. I’ve found a couple of ways the work for me. And they revolve around the bathroom.

I know that sounds weird, but bear with me because this has worked for me since way before I had children — even back in high school! One of the challenges for my prayer time is distractions. I have to work to keep my mind focused on praying, because it likes to wander. So if I hear people talking or something going on elsewhere, I can get distracted more so than when I’m doing other tasks. But when I’m in the shower, I don’t hear anything except the water. For years, my best prayer time has been in the shower. Half the time I’m in there, my eyes are closed anyway to avoid getting shampoo in them!

I’ve also found that when I’m getting ready for the day nowadays, I am usually alone. This wasn’t always been true when my kiddos were younger. But now I get ready either before I wake them up for school or after they leave for school. And most of the time when they are home on the weekend or school breaks, they still leave me alone when I’m putting in my contacts and putting on my makeup and such. They are now old enough to realize it’s boring. So I also use that time for prayer, even just for a quick rundown of my husband, my children and myself.

But prayer isn’t all that I need time for. I also need time to read my Bible. In our new house that happens in the bathroom. Previously it’s been either in my bedroom or, for a short time, at my kitchen table. Another time I can’t hear anything going on is when I’m drying my hair. It takes me a good 10 minutes to dry it on low with a diffuser (the joys of curly hair!), so I find somewhere to sit while I dry my hair. In our new house, we have a long vanity at which I have a stool to sit on for putting on makeup and drying my hair. During that time, I read my devotion book and related verses. In fact, I usually have enough time to go through two devotion books. I have one I get from my church and one I used (and loved!) in 2018 for women called “Daily Moments of Peace: Inspiration for Women.” In 2017, I read through and liked Sarah Young’s “Jesus Calling.” For 2019, my daughter and I are reading Max Lucado’s “Grace for the Moment” and “Grace for the Moment for Kids” together.

So, I keep my Bible and devotion books in a bin along with my hair dryer and pull the whole bin out when it’s time to dry my hair. It’s all together. If I have extra prayer lists (like right now I have one from my Sunday School class), I put them in the bin, too. This is also when I utilize my favorite prayer app. I know it sounds so odd to use an app for prayer, but PrayerMate has been a great way for me to organize prayers and requests from friends and loved ones. I use it regularly to pray more in-depth for some things I pray for all the time and to remind me to pray for other requests I would forget otherwise.

While the bathroom sounds like a weird place to get spiritual, it works for me. I’ve been praying in the shower and reading my Bible while drying my hair since high school. When I became a mom, it worked for me even more because my time became much more limited.

Do you have a tip for how to work in prayer and Bible reading time in spite of a busy schedule? Please share! I’d love to hear from you!