Intentional Motherhood: Habits for True Self CareSample

Whether you're rocking a young baby at midnight or managing a household after a long day at the office, we often, as moms, feel alone in our work.

We often feel like we are the only ones who can pack the lunches, sort the clothes, and handle our teenager’s angst. It is 1000% true that mothers have a unique priority position in their children’s lives.

There are many burdens that parents alone bear for their kids. They know their children’s strengths, weaknesses, and the prayer that most needs to be prayed over them.

The weight of raising children is heavy. But as moms, the good news is that you don’t have to bear this weight alone.

Romans 8:38-39 says, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Amen? I love that one!

This passage holds reassuring truth for all believers, and I think it holds something especially true for moms even when dealing with mom guilt, even on our loneliest days of mothering. No matter what we face as moms, no matter how long, dark, sad, or lonely our day has been—the love of God is with us and will never leave us.

In every extreme, from the first cries of life to the devastation of death, God’s love cannot and will not be taken from us. No child, no matter their crazy tantrums, bad attitudes, or the anxiety they provoke in us, can remove us from being recipients of His love.

And nothing that has ever happened in our past or will ever happen in our future can change the nearness of God’s affection.

Here’s the thing. I don’t want to minimize a truly terrible day. We’ve all had them. Nightmare days, right? We all have those real, tough days that are really hard. But I find if I can slow down my mental gymnastics long enough amid a rough day, I can remember that I walk arm in arm with the God of the entire universe. I am with Him every day.

He will not ever, not for a moment, leave me, or you, alone with problems and pains. He is for us! He is with you!

I don’t know what hard and heavy stuff you are facing with your child today, but I know you are not facing it alone. He is with you every step of the way. Nothing can separate your children from the love of God, His plan for them, and His purpose for their lives.

That doesn’t mean every situation will turn out just how we want in the short term. I get it. We live in the real world. It means that you will never be alone in the thick of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I’m going to say it one more time: He is with you. He loves you. You are never alone.

If and when you feel a cloud of loneliness settle over you today, will you do this one thing?

Instead of letting that cloud darken your mind and thoughts, let this truth pierce the darkness: He is with you. You are not alone. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. He is with you in every situation with your children. He is guiding you and continually working on your behalf.

And because of that, we can all say amen and amen!

Lord, thank you that you are with me. No matter what I face, I do not face it alone. Remind me of your presence. Help me know that you are here, even right now. I find so much comfort in your nearness. Thank you, Lord, for drawing close to me. Amen.