To the Weary Mom Trying to Do It All

Hi, this post is for you, the mom who is trying to do it all. The one with the endless to-do list who does the dishes and makes the beds, folds the laundry and cooks the meals. The one who nurses the baby, gives the baths and still tries to read a story. The one who drives the kids to soccer practice and plays games with the others. Who teaches and corrects, bandages up wounds and tries to instill character.

And when the day is done and all are tucked in and fast asleep, the one who falls into bed with a heaviness. Waves of guilt pouring over your heart as you think of all of the things that you should have done but didn’t. Everything that you could have accomplished but haven’t. Wondering what problems your inadequacies will cause.

But before you succumb to your guilt and shame, remind yourself, you’ve stopped at the fishes and the loaves.

Do you remember the story? Thousands were hungry. The disciples didn’t know what to do. They didn’t have enough money to buy food for everyone. Together, all they had were two fishes and five loaves. That certainly wasn’t enough to go around.

But the story didn’t stop there. We find that Jesus took what they had, blessed it and everyone ate. In fact, everyone left satisfied and there was even more left over.

Had you stopped reading at the fishes and the loaves, all you would have seen was inadequacy. The unbalanced ratio of what was needed and what was lacking. It wasn’t enough.

At least it wasn’t, until Jesus touched it.

That’s what we have to remember about the story. That’s what we have to remember about Him. The story wasn’t about how incapable they were of accomplishing the task. The story was about what He can do with whatever we have.

As you go through your day looking around at the dishes piled high, lessons untaught, laundry in mounds and feeling like you can’t possibly do it all, take heart. You don’t have to. You only need to do what you can and let Him do the rest.

It is at the point of inadequacy that He steps in.

This is God’s area of expertise.

He begins where we end. He takes what we have, blesses it and somehow manages to make it more than enough. More beautiful, more efficient, more than we ever could have accomplished. That’s why He loves for us to rely upon Him.

So tonight, let your weary heart rest peacefully in this:

“…Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the LORD Almighty.”
Zechariah 4:6

You are in His hands. Your family will be cared for, your chores will be done (eventually) and He will get the glory.

photo credit: Shandi-lee via photopin cc