The past couple weeks I have been worn out.
My son started waking up screaming an hour earlier than his normal wake up time. For two weeks straight.
He didn’t get the memo that he was ruining my quiet time. I use the time before my kids wake up to work out, pray, read, or just enjoy the quiet moments. For me, getting a little time to gather myself up before my crazy day starts really makes a difference.
After a hard week, I went to church stuck in a pity party. Yes I slapped on a smile, but underneath it all I was struggling. Then my pastor said a few precious words that hit me like a ton of bricks.
He was talking about this verse from 1 Corinthians 15:58:
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
He then gave modern day examples of what it looks like to abound in the work of the Lord. The first example was about stay-at-home moms. He said:
Abound in the work of the Lord: meaning wherever you are, there’s a reason God put you there. Do you realize that abounding in the work of the Lord for some is changing smelly diapers? And wiping snotty noses? I always talk to stay-at-home moms: what you do is so vitally important. And it’s pleasing to your Father and great worth in His sight. Because you’re investing in the family that He’s entrusted to you. You are investing in the lives of your children…very very important! I don’t ever want a stay-at-home mom or stay-at-home-dad to say that what I do is not important. It’s critically important. It’s HARD work.
At first, hearing my pastor say this made me want to stand up and shout “YES!”. Hearing that recognition and encouragement was so powerful. Then the more he talked, his words made me practically bawl {which is not like me at all}
So why was I crying so much?
Two reasons.
1) I was in desperate need of encouragement
For me, motherhood as a stay-at-home mom sometimes feels like a never ending load of laundry: monotonous and the difference being made is hard to see. There’s no inbox that gets emptied. There’s no tangible way to measure how much work you’ve gotten done. There’s no performance evaluation to show how well or bad you’re doing as a mother.
Other times, motherhood feels amazing. Just taking a moment and looking at my two kids I often have to pinch myself, almost not believing that I get to raise them. I’m so blessed to have them.
Abounding in the work of the Lord for me right now does mean changing poopy diapers. Pretending with my daughter. Administering time-outs. Laughing with my kids. Getting up several times for each kid through the night. The key is doing these things with the right attitude and focus.
Performing these tasks with a joyful heart knowing this work is important, valuable, and pleasing in His sight has made such a difference for me. Because “…in the Lord (my) labor is not in vain.”
I’m not saying that every moment I’m June Cleaver with the perfect sunshiny life. Refocusing on the things my Father wants for me helps me roll with the punches.
So the next week when my days were still not going my way, I was okay with it dealing with it. God hasn’t taken the struggle away; He’s equipped me to handle it with a better attitude. I’ve been gently reminded that God has built me to be the mother to these two precious kids. No one else can do this job because I’m the one He chose to do it. Feeling encouraged and empowered by God to do what He’s made me to do gives me a whole new perspective.
{Seeing that this post was getting WAY too long, I’m going to have to slap a “to be continued” on it. Stay tuned for the rest of this story, coming in my next post.}
Until then, I want to know:
- What helps you to cope when you’re worn out?
- What are the most encouraging words you’ve received about parenting?
This post was linked to Inspire Me Please and In and Out of the Kitchen
This was SUCH a blessing to read! Thank you!!
It makes my day knowing these scriptures were such an encouragement to you! Thanks so much for taking the time to tell me that Cheri!
I needed to read this… Thank you so much! Motherhood can be exhausting but I love that verse what a great encouragement!
I love how the Bible can be so encouraging! I’m so glad this was helpful Keri!
Oh my did these words speak to my heart for sure!!! My son has had croup, cutting cznines and a cold seemingly back to back. I have not known a full nights sleep in what seems like months. And it was getting to me. ..in a bad way. This morning I snapped! My sun was up sitting in his bed at 4:55 AM!!! Ahh! My nerves were shot I went down to check on him and NOTHING in my mind appeared to be wrong. I changed his diaper (just because) gave him some milk and put him back down and told him that I would come get him on my terms pretty harshly. He is 18 months and he maybe took it too literally and pushed the monitor off his bed. Now I can laugh but it wasn’t funny before showing I do need an attitude change and I am truly blessed to see his sweet face no matter what time of day.. well I don’t know if I’ll go that far. Thank you for the article
I’m so glad this was helpful, Emily! I’ll be praying for you that God helps you make it through the days that are difficult. One thing that helped me is knowing it won’t always be this hard. You won’t always be up in the night. I have to make attitude adjustments to myself all the time, so I use it as an opportunity to teach my kids that even mommies make mistakes but we can all be forgiven. I hope your day today goes better!
I LOVED this article. I’m going to share this with all my girlfriends who are mommies!
I have also been trying to get up before my little guy…. something about starting the day with a prayer and a cup of coffee that just sets the mood for the day. The days that I don’t get that time, things just feel “off”.
Sometimes what helps me is to remember “the big picture”…. I might be crawling out of my skin and at wits end with my son, but the big picture is that I get to stay at home with him and mold and shape him into the person I want him to be. I GET to RAISE him! 🙂 We are all so blessed to be mommies… there are so many out there that want to be moms that don’t get that opportunity.
I’m so glad this was of help to you, Jenna! Thank you so much for your kind words! I couldn’t agree with you more–when God reminds me of the big picture everything that doesn’t really matter gets put in it’s proper place. Thanks so much for sharing this & I hope it’s an encouragement to your friends!
Wow, I am so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter-in-law. I am so thankful that she listens toJesus and is obedient to his call on her life. She is a great mother!
I am so proud of you, Carrie. Every time I read your posts (at least the serious ones), I end up in tears!
Love you!
Thanks so much, Diane! Your encouragement means the world to me! I don’t know what my family would do without you! Love you too!
Awesome post! Being a stay-at-home-mom just makes you (me!) in dire need of encouragement sometimes. Loved this great reminder!
I’m so glad you liked it Kelly! I’ll be continuing the story next week so stay tuned! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Such a great reminder, thank you.
~Sarah
Hey Carrie,
This was super encouraging. Thank you! I have been feeling exhausted by motherhood lately. Ben has entered the “why” phase and I am realizing that I literally have no patience whatsoever. I find that talking to other moms helps me the most. We also just have to get out of the house a lot. Got to the park or run some errands usually makes the time we are at home better. Plus, the boys are always so much better outside of the house! Thanks for writing this and I am looking forward to part two!
Ah yes, the no patience whatsoever. I know ALL about that! I’ve had zero patience lately but after God’s encouragement it’s been better. Talking to other moms is a huge help to me too! Now that the weather is getting better we’ll be spending more time outside so that should help too. I’m so glad this was encouraging for you–that makes my night 🙂
Having some quiet time to spend with the Lord recharges me and also sometimes I just need to chat with and/or be around another mom a few steps ahead of me.
I agree, Melissa! Having some time with other moms is so helpful. Thanks for stopping by!