Everything I Need for Motherhood

It’s been so nice to get outside again with the kids, though it sure it interesting getting out with so many toddlers. It has made me remember when I was in the throes of having newborn twins, moving into a new house, and starting a new homeschool year. We had just transitioned from three kids to five. It was a continual cycle of feedings, meal making, school, feedings, and naps. Rinse and repeat all day. To be honest I was living in survival mode, constantly stressed and frazzled. I never got much of a break and was needed nearly 24/7. I wanted to find joy in my numerous blessings, my five kids, and our life, but I was drowning in all the work it took to keep everyone alive and fed. I wanted to be a calm and gentle mom, not a stressed-out mom. I wanted God’s peace, not a constant hectic feeling.

Finally, it hit me that if God had given me my five children and our current life situation He must have a way for me to live it with joy, not constant stress. I knew there wasn’t any circumstance where He couldn’t provide His strength and power. But what about in my motherhood? Is there any place in life God is not able? Are there circumstances excluded from His power? (The answer is a resounding no.) The tasks of motherhood seem so much less holy in my mind oftentimes because they are so mundane and repetitive, but that is far from the truth. It feels easier to trust His strength for big things. The truth is I need His strength in daily things too, but I often live like it’s up to me to do it all.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:8-11, “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work…Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” And in Philippians 4:19: “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Did I really believe that God could give me everything I needed to care for my twins and all five kids? If so, then I had to change. I had to stop living in my own meager strength and rely on God in a new way. He offers His peace over my stress. He offers His help in responding to all their needs with gentleness when I am so tired. He offers His rest in the business of all the care I was providing. He was able and willing to enrich me in every way…did I believe it? And more importantly, would I accept it? I needed to view all my work, from making lunch to nursing my twinlings as a place God could meet me.

And He did. Slowly, I’m learning. When I am stressed, I try to remember that I am often choosing it. If everything in my life is placed there by my Lord, then He will give me what I need to live in a way that honors Him. He is able to bless me abundantly, in any place! (Sometimes I put things on my plate that God never intended, which causes stress too. The thing to do then is remove it.) Maybe motherhood isn’t your season, but you have a lot of stressful things going on. I think the principle applies to any circumstance. It doesn’t matter what is going on, God makes a way for us to have His joy and peace. (Philippians 4:6-7) For me, life has been a lot. From the kids (specifically the “twinados”, as they are lovingly called) to Jonathan’s health crisis and its repercussions. I don’t get it right a lot, but this truth has changed me so much in the last few years full of trying things. The antidote for stress is remembering: He has everything I need to live the life He has given me. He promises all we need, in every place, for every good work.

He has no lack, and when I rely on Him I have no lack either. His riches have no limit, and He offers them freely to all who come to Him.