Have you ever had a really good “mom day”? Maybe your kids’ schedules are perfect, you get ahead on meal prepping for the week, clean your bathroom, and are perfectly patient with your little ones. You are absolutely crushing it! You’re convinced that being a mom is the best thing that ever happened to you. I am the first to admit that I love a good “mom day.”
But then, there’s a bad “mom day.” Maybe your child is throwing up all night or your toddler has the largest tantrum you’ve ever seen. Maybe the dishes are piling up, laundry is everywhere, and your baby is extra clingy, making it impossible to clean. Maybe you’re pregnant, exhausted, and running on fumes. I am also the first to admit that I really don’t like bad “mom days.”
It’s on these hard days that I find it really difficult to remember why being a mom is important and good. My patience wears thin, and I slip into frustration or even despair. I find myself asking:
“Does anyone care about the work that I am doing?”
“Does my role as a mom matter?”
“Will I feel like this forever?”
Have you been there? Sometimes I feel like I’m on a rollercoaster experiencing the highest of highs and the lowest of lows as a mom. In those lows, I desperately need truth to refocus my heart on what really matters and to remind me of God’s unchanging promises.
One passage that has become a lifeline for me in these moments is Psalm 139. Here are three truths from Psalm 139 to hold on to during the hard days:
1. God sees you.
There are a thousand moments that go unseen in motherhood. Taking care of a newborn during the night, wiping snotty noses, making meals, and cleaning up messes over and over again are just a few. On hard days, these unseen moments can feel especially painful and lonely.
The timeless truth of Psalm 139:7 is an anchor to cling to in lonely moments:
“Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?”
There isn’t anywhere we can go where God is not with us. There isn’t any pit of motherhood so deep that he cannot reach us.
What about in the middle of a toddler meltdown? What about during a sleepless night? What about when I am feeding my baby or changing yet another dirty diaper?
Psalm 139:10 gives us the soul-satisfying answer to those questions:
“. . . even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”
Yes, friend, even there the Lord is with you. No matter how lonely you feel, you are never truly alone.
2. God sees your work.
“Being a mom is a thankless job,” a dear friend shared with me before I had my son. I have found her statement to be true and stretching for me as I’ve stepped into motherhood. At my job outside the home, my work might be noticed and appreciated. But at home, some days, my efforts feel invisible. It’s easy to believe the lie that my role as a mom doesn’t matter because there’s no audience or applause.
Psalm 139:1-3 speaks directly to that lie and reminds me I do have an audience—the most important audience of all.
“O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.”
Every dish that is washed, every boo-boo kissed, every hug given, and every snack made is seen by the eyes of our loving God. God is familiar with ALL our ways. His omniscience and omnipresence help us remember that no work goes unseen by him.
As moms, we can cling to the truth that whatever we put our hands to that day is an opportunity to worship and honor the Lord. He loves the humble in heart who faithfully serve him, no matter who is watching. As moms, our audience is often just the moldable hearts of our children and the eyes of our all-seeing God. What a wonderful audience that is!
3. God will help you.
More times than I can count, I’ve had to kneel before my toddler—who barely understands a handful of words—and ask for his forgiveness for how I reacted. He just stares at me and embraces me, but he has no idea what I am saying. These moments are quite humbling for me!
Motherhood has shown me the many areas where I need to grow and how desperately I need God’s help. Praise God that he loves to help those who express their need for him! Psalm 139:22-24 tells us this is true.
“Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”
This is really good news for imperfect moms. Not only will God lovingly show us the ways we need to repent, but he will gently help us towards change. God is doing a good work in our hearts in the midst of those hard days, and he will help us endure them well.
Every moment of the day he is with us, he sees our work, and he promises to help us. And that, dear mama, is enough to anchor us—even on the toughest of days.
