Overcoming Overwhelm: God's Comfort for Working Mothers - Find Peace and Purpose in the Dance of Work and MotherhoodSample

Day Two: God’s Practical and Spiritual Provision

I know I’m not the only parent who, just by looking at my kids sometimes, can tell that they need either a nap or a snack and that in having either one of those things, they’ll feel a lot better than they do right now.

I’m also sure I’m not the only parent who doesn’t follow through on this same sort of sustenance seeking for myself.

We’re sometimes sleeping in three-hour chunks, grabbing a handful of biscuits as we run out the door from one activity to another, and often switching between ‘parent’ and ‘professional’ mode multiple times a day. We’d probably do well to ask ourselves if a snack, a nap or a ‘me moment’ could be exactly what the doctor ordered at this point in time before we spiral and conspire that we’re under some form of attack.

The truth for Elijah is that he was under quite literal attack. However, God didn’t automatically use some super-spiritual methods in order to get him back on track (well, despite speaking to him!) What God provided was quite practical and what’s more, we’re told in 1 Kings 19:8 that he was so strengthened by the food God provided, that he was able to make his next journey which consisted of forty days and forty nights.

I know it can often feel like, as working parents, we’re a bit like robots just getting through the day - functional - yet not often optimal. However, the truth is we’re human beings and not human doings. God knows this, and we may even know he knows it in theory. However, our worn out, weary efforts as we go through our day to day without so much as a pause, let alone a prayer do suggest that we’re treating ourselves in a way we’d never treat our children.

Psalm 103:13-14 tells us that God has compassion on his children and what’s more, that he remembers our frame and how we’re formed - that we are like dust. Rather than allowing this to bring up emotions of inadequacy, what if we instead allowed it to give us an opportunity to unclench our jaws, drop our shoulders a little and simply exhale? A pause for our physical needs in a world not primed for us to stop isn’t optional, it’s essential.

Give yourself some time to reflect on the following: