For the Mighty Tired, Mighty Troubled and Mighty Tough Mamas

Dear Mama,

This morning I congratulated myself for hitting the snooze button only once instead of twice.  I rolled out of bed and two hours later I was running out the door with three kids in tow.  I made two drop off's and then headed to work where I strained my eyes and rubbed my temples as I answered questions, typed up documents and ciphered through a mountain of paperwork.

When the work day was over, I punched out and battled traffic before picking up my kiddos and going home where I did the three C's of motherhood:  Cook, clean and care.  You know the drill. 

Once all my little people were soundly tucked into bed with their stuffed animals and special blankets, I sank into the living room chair and let out, well, a mighty deep breath.

I'm mighty tired.  This motherhood stuff is hard.  We do lots of things and we walk with our kids through some really tough stuff that, quite frankly, we don't even know how to handle ourselves.

As I sat in my living room, my weary eyes looked at my leather bound Bible.  My heart reached for it but my hands were just too tired.  I battled within myself and finally mustered up enough energy to lean forward and grab God's Word.  I read a chapter but I couldn't retain it.  I tried to read it again but felt my eyes start to close in exhaustion.  Shame overwhelmed me.  Anger followed suit.  Are you like this too?  Do you work so hard only to fall so short?  Praise God for grace, right?  I'm still learning how amazing it is.

Mama, you will get through this.  

Whether you're a working mama, a stay-at-home mama, a single mama, or an older-in-life mama, you experience various and frequent seasons of fatigue and weariness.   It's unavoidable.  But while we may be mighty troubled with the hard things and mighty tired from the small hands that hold ours, we serve a mighty God who equips us to tackle this thing called motherhood.  His strength renews our energy, His compassion restores our faith and His loves makes us tough as nails as we wipe noses, kiss scraped knees, hug crying babies and pour into little walking sponges. 

Don't forget in your frustration that you are being used to reflect the very heart of God to your children. 

It was Susanna Wesley that played a key role in the lives of her sons, John and Charles - two of the most influential men in Christian history.   

It was Sarah Edwards who raised her eleven children and watched all of them follow after Christ. 

It was Anna Barclay who gave birth to Lottie Moon and placed Lottie on a trajectory that would reshape overseas missions forever. 

As you sit on your couch at the end of the day, depleted and wondering how you're going to do it all over again tomorrow, remember that God did not give you this job only to leave you alone in the work.  You feel used up most days and you probably feel (and maybe even look) disheveled, but mama, you have the hands of God pressing into your spirit and into your body, shaping you into the mother your children need the most, and breathing His Spirit through your actions and through your love.  It's beautiful! 

Motherhood in all its piles of laundry and To-Do lists is beautiful.

We wear spit-up like a royal garment of love and matted hair like a crown. 

We handle broken hearts and searching souls like the precious gems that they are. 

We can carry the weight of every lost toy and every childhood failure with dignity and grace because we know that while we are reaching for one more cup of coffee, God isn't just working to capture the hearts of our children, He is also working to capture us too. 

So if you're feeling mighty tired and mighty troubled, take comfort in knowing that your Almighty God is using every single thing in your life in order to make you a mighty tough woman; a truly mighty mama.