You’ve been there. Those moments when the pile of laundry is beckoning you to cuddle up and take a nap. It was one of those nights… well, actually it’s been one of those weeks. You are struggling with a sleepless toddler whose inner alarm goes off at 10 pm. You are mustering the where-with-all to help kids with end of the year school projects, field trips, programs and exams.
You work at home. You work at work. You work at home again. You are tired.
This chapter of our lives will be name Tired.
I get it. I am typing here at my kitchen table basking in the post-school-departure calm. My toddler is painting the table with her milk and cereal spoon. My 4-year old is quiet and probably flooding the upstairs. But it’s quiet. And I am going to get another cup of coffee.
Here’s my half-time Mommy Pep Talk.
We got this girls. We are MOM!
We got this because:
God’s got this.
“I am the Lord, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me.” Isaiah 45:5
Ok, so Isaiah was writing about the impending judgement and captivity of Judah, but motherhood feels like captivity sometimes. Motherhood takes you places you didn’t want to go and keeps you longer than you wanted to stay. But we stay. We stay because our God is girding us for this battle.
There is a battle.
Moms who have lost a child are acutely aware that the finish line isn’t high school graduation. Our end game is heaven. We are fighting powers of darkness to get our kids saved in Christ.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord…
A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Read all of Eph. 6 here.
The devil hates mothers.
I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant, and she cried out because of her labor pains and the agony of giving birth…
He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born…
This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels…
And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.
Read all of Rev. 12 here.
This is the story of the mother of all mothers. This is the story of the woman who birthed Salvation. We call her Mary.
We are her legacy. We are detested. We are attacked.
Jesus wins.
And the dragon lost the battle. Rev. 12:8
Do you get how big that is? Jesus, the son of Mary, wins. He fought for you and he wins.
Sometimes motherhood is overwhelming because we think we are losing. We are drowning in the duties. We are crushed by the weight of wayward children. Never forget this: Jesus wins.
God cares.
The woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her. Rev. 12:6
He has prepared a place for you too. Find your place. The devil tries to keep us from finding this place. If he keeps us exhausted, emotionally drained and spiritually depleted his job is a lot easier.
Maybe your place is your room after bedtime or your front porch, your car or work. It doesn’t have to be as dramatic as being swept away into the wilderness. God can work in the smallest of places. Just find your place and meet him there.
God loves moms.
A lot.
But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman. Gal. 4:4
Of all the ways God could have introduced the Messiah to the world, he chose a mom.
Own it.
The world wants to tell us that a career, following our dreams and receiving accolades will fill us. I want to tell you there is no greater achievement than this. You are Mom.
Her children rise up and call her blessed. Prov. 31:28
