Jesus Welcomes Weary Mothers
Emily Miller
As mothers, especially of little children, we are in demand; on call, day and night. In my first days of motherhood, each shower felt like I was sneaking away, as if any moment to myself was a moment taken from the newborn who depended on me for every bodily function.
My oldest, Grey, is six now; Kai is four; my one-year-old roars from his highchair; and twin girls are doing somersaults in my stomach. The demands on me have only increased as I share my time, energy, and even my body with delightful, needy, little image-bearers.
It’s nice to be needed. It’s difficult to be needed all the time.
Quiet time with Jesus can feel like another demand. Spending an hour reading the Bible can seem laughable when drinking a cup of coffee while it’s still hot has proved undoable. We can start grouping our Savior with the crying children, barking dogs, and mounting laundry. We can add Jesus to the list of goals we would like to achieve if we could only be the ideal versions of ourselves who daily read our Bibles as we sip our coffee in a clean home while our kids quietly play.
The good news is that Jesus does not need me. He’s not anxiously waiting for me to get it together. Quiet time isn’t for Him. It’s for me!
See, I need Him like I need sleep, showers, food, and friends. I need His love, grace, joy, peace, forgiveness, and help more, the more I’m needed!
Yet, motherhood often interrupts sleep, delays eating, shortens showering, and prevents me from socializing. So too, my quiet time is often interrupted, delayed, shortened, and even prevented.
Satan came to a weakened, starving Jesus with a temptation to meet His own needs and make bread out of rocks. (Matthew 4:1-11)
So too, our Adversary comes to us weakened, tired, much-too-needed mothers and tells us that we need some form of self-care more than we need our Savior. And when we can’t fit in Bible reading - yet somehow find an hour to scroll through our phone - that same Accuser is all too eager to crush us with guilt and drive us from Jesus with visions of our Savior’s deep disappointment.
Our High Priest's response to the Accuser was that we do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Do we believe that? And how do we hear that? Does that encourage us to come to Him as we can each day? Or is Satan cleverly using this very truth as yet another accusation against you?
Friend, Jesus is a High Priest who knows our weaknesses. He is the only One who was never snared by the Devil’s wiles. He isn’t shocked or disappointed with you; He sympathizes and helps.
Jesus resisted the Devil and the Devil fled. Then angels were sent to care for God’s faithful Son.
Jesus invites the weary and burdened to come to Him and be given rest. (Matthew 11:28) How do we resist the temptations, lies, and guilt expertly hurled at our tired hearts? We go to Jesus. Imperfectly and inconsistently, and trust that He’ll give us rest.
Need
Fluffy chicksToo silly not to
Pollute the water
They drink.
I refresh their
Source as they
Run away
From me.
Baby cries
Too little not to
Overwhelm me.
Kai needs me.
I hold him close
And he rests,
Soothed by my
Presence.
“Listen me”
Too forceful not to
Make a smile,
Tug at me.
Grey needs me.
So I bend down
And give him
My attention.
“Be with me?”
Too tender not to
Still my busy hands,
Leigh needs me.
Cleaning our home,
Making our food,
Not quite enough.
He wants me.
Finally, silence.
I drag my tired
Self to You.
Too used up to
Love You well.
Amusement
Fills the creases
Of the humming night.
As if I provide
You water,
When You are life
To me.
As if my presence
Soothes you,
When You are rest
To me.
You want me
To hear You,
As You bend low
For me.
You love my
Tired heart.
You simply died
For me.
So I smile
And rest,
As the stillness
Seeps over me.
Amused that I
Come to You
As if You
Need me.
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Emily Miller began having a daily quiet time at the age of 13. This habit has been one of the few constants in her life as she transitioned from being a missionary kid in Mongolia to a barista in Oregon to a stay-at-home mom in central Florida. The Word of God has anchored Emily to Jesus through depression, struggles with doubt, health issues, and her son’s cystic fibrosis. |