“Mom, Helen is awake and I was cuddling her in her bed!”
I awoke with a jolt as my 3 year old’s statement began to make sense.
This was it. I jumped out of bed and ran to the shower to take the fastest shower in the history of motherhood. I badly needed a shower and refused to take one with my 16 month old for obvious reasons; one not so obvious reason being she had previously stuck her finger in the drain. My husband and I thought we would have to cut the metal off in order to free her little chubby finger, but praise be we were able to emancipate her with the help of conditioner and fervent prayer. I had neglected waking up any earlier than I had to because Hunter and I have this terrible habit of staying up late and paying for it later. But a shower? That was non-negotiable.
As I was taking my trendy cold plunge shower (against my will, forced by the rate our water heats up), my 7 year old son Parker brought the baby, Helen, to the bathroom and set her right outside the shower stall, where she sat somewhat happily while I finished; however I was not quick enough as she was playing in the toilet when I exited the shower.
The morning block had begun with minor travesties (Helen playing with pee in the toilet is considered minor around here), and while I hadn’t read my Bible, or worked out, I had taken a shower, and that’s a win folks. You’re welcome, world.
…………………………………….
Some days are such a blur, they start off so chaotically, and it’s hard to get back on track, to submit the day to the Lord. I recently was convicted of my lack of personal time spent with the Lord; wanting to change that, I started getting up earlier to make time for Bible reading/prayer. The kickoff was fantastic, but the consistency thus far? I give that an F. I don’t know if it’s merely the season I find myself in, the ages of my kids, or my own flesh getting in the way, but waking up any earlier to spend time with the Lord seems so out of reach. I want to give the Lord the first fruits of everything, including my time but it feels like I’m grasping at straws. As moms (and dad’s), we can’t rely on a full night’s rest, in fact, we can probably rely on the fact that we won’t get a full night’s rest. So to then wake up earlier to give the Lord our first groggy 30 minutes seems unsustainable. But to be fair, I thought waking up multiple times every night was “unsustainable” and look at me, I am sustained/still living/barely surviving. But all jokes aside, God has sustained me through unsustainable circumstances including sleepless nights.
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8
Every good work includes motherhood/homemaking. I need God’s grace to abound in me so that I am able to tackle the jobs He’s set before me. Because this is Kingdom work. That’s why inviting Him in at the start of every day is so integral to the success of the day. It doesn’t have to be intense, just centering yourself in Christ before the day kicks off is powerful because you’re declaring the day His.
What if I’m not a morning person and I HATE waking up before my kids because I need all the sleep I can?
Wow, you sound just like MYSELF. You don’t have to spend the morning with the Lord, it can be anytime, and anytime is better than no time. However, I have found that if I don’t do it in the morning it doesn’t happen. So figure out a time that works and commit to that, otherwise it won’t happen, because not only does it go against our flesh, there are spiritual forces that do not want us to grow in our knowledge and understanding of the Lord.
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
2 Corinthians 10:4
Narrowing down what matters is necessary to get anything done, otherwise the day will take us places we don’t want to go: losing our tempers, yelling at the kids, letting the house “go” and our kids bad behaviors go unchecked. Or, maybe we don’t do those explicitly unacceptable things but instead we accomplish the bare minimum and become the forever “surviving not thriving” momma. When we invite the Holy Spirit to work through us, to motivate us, to soften our children’s hearts, we’re engaging in a spiritual battle that requires us to get on our knees.
I’m definitely not an authority on spending time with the Lord, in fact, I’m not an expert on anything other than making sourdough bread and cracking my phone’s screen (so annoying) but the Lord is constantly teaching me how much I need Him to be a godly wife and mother. My flesh is constantly getting in the way of being the wife and mom I want to be and it’s only by God’s grace in which I stand. So on the days that take you by surprise, when the chaos feels like more than you can stand, make a game plan that includes spending time with the Lord where you invite Him and His blessings on your day, no matter how crazy that day may be. It’s those crazy days that we recognize our need for Him the most.
Amateur Motherhood 