I gotta be honest, this week was one of the most painful weeks of my life.

I discovered something that could have shattered my whole world as I knew it.

And it’s been the strangest thing having to carry grief while still showing up for my kids.

So instead of seizing pockets of time throughout the day to process and grieve, I booked an Airbnb at a little bungalow down the south coast of New South Wales, packed my things and left to go on a 24 hour stay by myself…for the first time ever.

I sat at cafes alone, I walked through a rainforest alone, I went to bed alone.

And while that sounds like every mother’s dream, it exposed something in me that I didn’t really know existed.

A fear of being alone.

After being a mum for over eight years now, I have morphed into a new person - gratefully so.

However, it’s one thing to become someone new after having babies, it’s another thing to immerse yourself so deep that you can’t function without those little people who call you mama.

So even though being alone was uncomfortable and daunting, in those 24 hours, I learnt how to be okay with being alone again.

Without needing to think about what was for dinner.

Without needing to hear for when my baby woke from his nap.

Without having to think about so many things that take up space in my mind as a mother.

And while I missed those moments and remembered how extremely grateful I am for this life, I needed that solitude.

A place to grieve, process and heal that couldn’t be done any other way.

I faced the reality of the pain I had been harbouring not only about the devastating thing I had discovered, but about so many different things I needed healing from.

You see, whether you believe it or not, we are all broken humans in need of healing. And that healing can only truly come from the Creator, the One who knows every hair on your head and who is familiar with the depths of the ocean.

I got away to be with Him, my Lord.

And I realised that I have never been alone with Him.

Here’s why I recommend a 24-48 hour getaway for mothers:

You need time to heal from things that you often don’t get uninterrupted time for when you are doing everyday life with your kids.

And while that seems scary, you will return home being a better mama than before and that’s one of the best gifts you can give your family.

Here’s why I recommend a 24-48 hour getaway for mothers:

You need time to heal from things that you often don’t get uninterrupted time for when you are doing everyday life with your kids.

And while that seems scary, you will return home being a better mama than before and that’s one of the best gifts you can give your family.

What I did in those 24 hours that made the trip:

• I sat at cafes, ordered delicious food and read books uninterrupted.
• Walked a breathtaking coastal walk while worship music blasting in my headphones.
• Brought out my guitar and wrote a song in the first time in a long time.
• Watched a movie, laughed and cried.
• Sat in complete silence on the couch.
• Typed out the whole story of the past few days as a way to process.
• Walked through a rainforest with nobody else but the birds, trickling water and trees around.
• Drove around in prayerful solitude.

Whether you are a brand new mother or a mama to multiple older children, we all need moments of solitude.

We need moments to process feelings we have been bottling up for months or years.

We need quiet to think thoughts through without interruption by children who often need our full attention at many different intervals during the day.

We need to remember that we are our own unique person, with our own thoughts, feelings, characteristics, interests, tolerances aside from mothering our children.

So, if you can manage 24 hours or even 48 hours away from your family, I would highly recommend it.

Not as a way to escape them, but as a way to just be, to just think, to just make choices and to just heal on your own.

You will come back home feeling freer and ready to embrace the chaotic, busy, ever-moving life with open arms.

If you are on the brink of burn out or want to learn how to get to the root of chaos in your life, download my free 10 ways to live more rhythmically as a mother.​

In it with you,

Jess x