Fear Less: Devotions for Courageous FaithSýnishorn

God's Solution for Night Time Anxiety

For many years, I was a stay-at-home mom. In addition to our five children, we were foster parents to thirty-five other children, mostly medically fragile babies. 

While this was rewarding and meaningful work, it was also exhausting. During those years, I felt like a little one was always hanging on my body, calling for mama, crying, or needing something from me.

Evenings were especially tough because my husband, who is a pastor, would come home for a quick dinner then leave again for church meetings. Getting the kids fed, bathed and to bed by myself often felt like it was pushing me to the edge of my sanity.

At the time I was 100 pounds heavier than I am today, and I often used food in the evenings to numb my feelings of overwhelm. I overate dinner, ate more while I was cleaning up the dishes, ate snack after snack in front of the TV, and binged on ice cream and cookies.

When I shared with a friend about my nighttime struggles, she reminded me that God promises us new mercies in the morning. Rather that ruminating over all the mistakes I made during the day or focusing on my exhaustion level, why not go to bed and get some rest, looking forward to new mercies waiting for me in the morning? This perspective shift made a world of difference in my evening attitude.

Reflection Question

Do you struggle with evening anxiety or overwhelm? How can you get some rest instead and focus on God’s mercies that will be new in the morning?