Meeting Jesus in the Midst of Motherhood

For four years I have strived and longed for the same quiet time with God that I had before becoming a mom. No one warned me that as soon as I held my first baby boy, my time with the Lord would look far different from that moment forward. They didn’t tell me that after weeks of sleepless nights, I would drift off to sleep in the middle of my prayer time.

I had no clue that my mind would be filled with a million thoughts and worries from the day that would steal my focus when I opened the Word. Oh, and the interruptions! I was not prepared for the interruptions. No one told me that as soon as I sat down to be still before the Lord the baby would cry, the toddler would need a snack, or someone would get hurt.

For so long I tried to figure it out. I would try to get up before the kids and that would work for a few weeks, but the reality that I am not a morning person would eventually catch up. I would try to set aside time during nap time, but someone would fight off his nap without fail. Defeated and discouraged, I often let it slip down my priority list.

Until lately.

Lately, God has been teaching me that He will meet me right where I am. It may be messy and imperfect. There may be fifteen interruptions as I try to make it through five verses, but I cling to the promise that His word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11). Even in the chaos of motherhood, He will speak. He can hear my prayers over the noise of little people all around. My time with the Lord may look different than it did before I had three kids filling my schedule, but it is no less fruitful.

I am reminded of the women in the Bible that Jesus had encountered. More often than not, these encounters weren’t in secluded spaces with the women altering their lives to be with Him. So often, He met them where they were at. In John 4, Jesus met the woman at the well as she was performing her daily chores of fetching water. She was doing the daily tasks required of her and Jesus met her there. Jesus first met some of His closest friends Mary and Martha in their home. In Luke 10:38-42, we can tell by the frenzy of Martha that this wasn’t a slow day where everything was perfectly prepared. Jesus dropped in on a normal day when the house was likely a mess and the meal was not cooked. Jesus met women where they were time and time again, and He will do the same for us.

I know the current season that many of us have faced in the past few months have been anything but peaceful. Many of us have had to balance working from home with a house full of children that need to do virtual schooling from home. Maybe you are finally catching your breath as summer break has begun and normalcy is starting to return. But maybe you still feel like you are drowning in responsibility and children. So much so that the thought of squeezing in uninterrupted time with the Lord seems impossible.

He doesn’t want perfection, He just wants your presence.

Jesus will meet you over the pile of dishes. He will speak to you when you open your Bible in the corner of the playroom. It is okay to read the same verse ten times because you were interrupted the first nine. He will meet you where you are. He will meet you in the messy middle of motherhood.

Keep seeking Him,

Stephanie Roberts

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