Picture this.
It’s 4:30pm. And although I really despise the term ‘witching hour’ it seems as the hungry and the tired and the overstimulated kicks in with the kids, they begin to go wild and whiny and wreak havoc.
My nana says they used to call it ‘sundowning.’
You know that it’s at least an hour until Daddy gets home from work. You also know that despite all your best intentions, the chicken never got pulled from the freezer in the morning so it will be cereal for dinner again.
As you look around at the kiddos who are running wild and can feel your own anxious heart beating a little faster in your chest, you just might hear this question go through your head…‘Is this really what I wanted?’
And then.
‘I’m just not cut out for the motherhood thing. I want out.’
Anyone else? Show of hands?
Of course, we don’t mean it, because a couple hours later when everyone is fed and bathed and tucked into bed, they’ll say something sweet in their bedtime prayers or they’ll look at you and say, ‘I love you, Mommy.’ And that’s all it will take to melt you back into the beauty of motherhood.
Motherhood is hard, ladies. And there are moments (and not always at 4:30 in the afternoon, sometimes it’s more like 7:30… in the morning) where we just want to quit.
But is it really quitting that we want? Or is it more that we…
- Desperately need a break?
- Need to be willing to ask for help?
- Just want someone to see us in these hidden years of serving our families?
I know for me, when I’m really lost in this thing called mothering, it’s often because I feel burnt out, overwhelmed, and invisible.
I’m going to tell you the same thing that many mothers who have gone before have told me:
- Ask for help (or be willing to receive it!) You were never meant to weather these mothering years alone.
- Get out of the house (by YOURSELF) and do something that fulfills you. Whether that’s a run around the block or a run to Target, make the most of it.
- And remember that the One who made you, the One who gave you those sweet and crazy kiddos, He sees you and delights over you serving your kids. You are never invisible to your Heavenly Father.
It’s okay to want to quit sometimes. I want to quit sometimes too.
But El Roi, the God who Sees, is delighting over you in this season. Don’t you ever forget that.
Much love.
