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You open your eyes. The sun is shining but the sounds you hear are not sweet and peaceful, they are loud and cranky. A toddler is screaming in protest, and a preschooler is crying about how unfair his life is, loudly. One child is diligently getting his piano practice done in the next room and another is wandering around finding a new craft to create instead of moving through their morning routine. Minutes are passing, quickly. You reach for your phone and hit that Bible app. You read a few verses, but feel detached as the stress of what you know is going on and what needs to happen threatens to suffocate you.

It seems like it would be an easy fix to avoid this situation, right? Get.Up.Earlier. Beat them to the punch. Open your eyes in darkness, read the Bible in peace, shower in peace. Greet the children as they wake and keep the morning together FOR THEM. But their is a catch, once they are awake you can’t get much of your work done. You chase the toddler as he makes one mess after another, dumps cheerios, throws all of his meals off his tray, empties bookshelves, sharpies the couch… You correct him, but it happens again two seconds later. Training is hard, but worth it. So what do you do? You make the best of your day with your kiddos your and work into the night. The peace is wonderful and you get a lot done. It’s midnight again and you know you’ll be fatigued tomorrow. What choice was there? Not everything is done, there is still a long list. Your desk is covered in papers to be organized, bills to be paid, tests to be corrected. Your yard needs to be raked and groomed for spring. Grass needs to be replanted, again. Damaged porches need to be torn off, but then what? Screens need to be replaced on that old screen porch so you can sit and have a moment of peace while the kids play in the yard…

So you wake with the kids. And the cycle repeats.

What is a girl to do? Life can be very hard. If I didn’t have Jesus these kids would have a VERY different mom. People say I handle it well. People say I am joyful and kind. They are seeing JESUS. It is funny, I found myself just yesterday wondering to myself how I had become so joyful. Don’t get me wrong, there are times, like right now, that I feel very discouraged. But then, I look to eternity. Am I leading these children to Jesus? Am I filling them with Truth? Do they have a happy, stable, safe life? YES. And it’s all because of Jesus. There is a song by Matt Maher called, “Because He Lives, “ that brings me such peace. The lyrics say “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow” That is exactly how I can keep going. I know that my struggles are minor compared to those battling life threatening health conditions, or grieving the loss of a loved one, or living in extreme poverty… the list goes on. I know this is a temporary situation, but sometimes life can just be HARD and it is okay to admit that. We all have our “stuff.”

I am praying for you, sweet mama. You love your kids and are doing the best you can for them. Lean into Jesus. He will bring peace. He is the calm in the storm. If today seems too hard, look up! Look at eternity. Even if today is not hard, still, LOOK UP! He is right there! Praise God.