Since Yesterday was Mother’s Day, I want to direct this post to mothers around the country and encourage all of you mothers out there who are discouraged, weary, guilt-ridden-stressed-filled, and simply worn out. Some of you may not be Moms yet or are spiritual Moms but the principle of seeking Jesus first is the same.
I know. I am part of your club. And now I have joined another club. Grand-parenting. Mothers everywhere – be encouraged. We all feel this way or have felt this way at times. The question is what to do about it?
This blog space has been dedicated to helping women make space for God. So today let’s talk about making space for God for you mothers who are wondering how you will get through this day, let alone this week. And all the while, Christians are telling you to increase your quiet time… WHAT? Increase it? You may not have had a quiet time in days… weeks… months or at all. In the midst of a pile of dirty laundry, unmade beds, kids complaining, meals to prepare and a thankless crowd of people around you, what is a mother to do? Let me tell you my experience about making space for God then… when I was raising my three children… and now when I have 11 grandchildren, aging parents and a ministry all pulling on me.
When I was raising my children, I was so tired but I came to realize that time spent with the Lord was time for myself. If I stole away for even a few minutes to read even just a few lines of Scripture, pray and seek the Lord, I came away refreshed with a fresh perspective. The key is not to stress about how long you have. Frankly I used to have my quiet time in the bathtub. Everyone has to bathe, right?! When my kids were finally in school during the day, this changed. After they were off, I had my quiet time and for those of you who rush out to work it may work best to have some precious moments set aside after you tuck them into bed. Listen to me, precious women. The laundry can wait. The dirty dishes can stay in the sink for 15 minutes. Find a quiet place, close the door, breath deeply and spend some alone time with the Lord. Open your bible and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you through His Word. I sometimes used a devotional to aid me in this process. My husband realized how much this helped me so he even began to encourage me to go into my “quiet place.” Sort of like telling your pet to “stay” until he or she behaves better, right?!
My responsibilities are many. Believe me throughout life there will always be things that will crowd out your time with Jesus. At any age. At any season. I now eagerly go to my quiet place anxious to hear what the Lord tells me. Naturally it is easier without kids’ lunches to pack, early carpool or a job that I have to be at at a certain time. But trust me, life still can consume you at any time or season. I have simply made a choice to follow the words of Jesus:
Seek my kingdom first and my righteousness and all these things will be added.
What things? Peace, hope, de-stressing, perspective and so much more. Mothers, let us unite encouraging one another to keep the faith, helping one another to seek the Lord first and helping one another to not be so hard on ourselves. We are pretty good at that!
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