As an empty nest mom now, I look back on the years of raising two girls and wonder how I made it sometimes. Maybe you think about it sometimes too, or maybe you’re still right in the thick of it. Maybe you’re saying to yourself most days, ‘How am I going to get through this day of endless diapers, feedings, no sleep….?’ I remember some of it, but if I’m honest with myself, most days looking back are blurs of time.
Do I miss those days? No. Not really. There are things about those days I do miss but not all those days. I miss how much younger I was; how much better this body felt (even though it was tired!); how I thought back then too. But I do not miss those days of hardship, of doubting I was doing the right things for my girls, of doubting that I was a good mother. We all grow up with human parents who make mistakes, and we tell ourselves we aren’t going to make those mistakes. But we do, and we make many, many more!
Being a mom makes you weary and exhausted most days. You have a job that has no monetary reward. You have this huge responsibility of raising these tiny humans that are 100% dependent upon you! It is overwhelming!
But, you make it! One day you wake up and realize those humans you brought into this world are okay or at least maybe gonna be okay. You realize maybe you don’t feel quite so weary today. But how did I get here? I’ll tell you the secret that I have learned and wished I’d realized more when I was going through the young years – PRAY!
Pray all the time! Pray when you’re so worn down that you cry all the time. Pray when that little baby is asleep and you are finally getting some sleep too! Pray. All. The. Time.
My devo this morning talked about Hannah in the Bible. She prayed so hard that the priest thought she was drunk! But afterwards, she got up, ate, and was back to her old self. She trusted God enough to help her through the tough times ahead.
I am also reminded of Isaiah 40:28-31:
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
So, next time you are so weary you don’t know what to do, pray! Mount up on those eagle wings and pray. Trust that God will help you. Ask others, especially other moms, to pray with you and for you. Not everyone understands what you are feeling, but another mom will get it.
You are not alone!
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