I recently finished reading Emily Freeman’s, Grace for the Good Girl, and I just had to share something with you – especially my readers who have little ones at home!
Don’t get me wrong, I loved everything about this book, but there were two paragraphs that were like gems buried amidst the 224 pages. The words spoke right to my heart:
“That year I learned what it meant to depend on Jesus as my source of life more than I ever had before. It didn’t happen at 6 a.m. with my coffee and my pen and my cozy blanket by the fire. It happened at 3 a.m. with two screaming babies and spit-up running down my leg. Gone were the days of quiet times I had known. I hardly had any time of quiet, much less a quiet time….
The truth is, I struggled through this shift. I fought it and cried about it and wondered if I could really call myself a Christian since it was so hard to spend any time with God. What I didn’t realize until later was just how vital this shift would be in order for me to understand God as he is and not as I think he should be.” ~ Emily Freeman, Grace for the Good Girl
Reading this was like a breath of fresh air! So, I’m not the only one who goes days at a time without cracking open my Bible? It’s normal that my prayer life is more like going through a drive through than sitting down for a four course meal?
Since bringing Jackson home in December, I have struggled with my so-called quiet time. Confession….I’ve never been one of those girls who jumps out of bed at 5 or 6 a.m. to open my Bible and pour over the scriptures. I. AM. NOT. a morning person. I tend to spend time with Jesus in the middle of the afternoon or at night before I shut my eyes. When I was working, my drive to work each morning was the perfect time to spend in prayer, talking to my Savior.
But what about now? Between changing diapers, washing sippee cups (remember, I packed those bottles up!) and trying to keep my house some what clean, I have little time to sit at the feet of Jesus.
I know some people might think my priorities are wrong, but I think that Jesus understands the crazy life of a new mommy! That’s why Emily’s words were so encouraging to me. I’ve become closer to Jesus since bringing Jackson home and it wasn’t by spending hours in prayer or in the Word. Here’s a few ways that I have drawn near to Him during this chaotic time in my life….
- Instead of praying on my drive to work, I do a lot of praying in the bathtub!
- Each time I look at Jackson I am reminded of God’s faithfulness, His goodness and His love. I can’t help but feel closer to my Savior.
- When Jackson was up all night screaming from colic, I sang Jesus Loves Me and other old hymns, over and over and over. Most of the time it calmed Jackson down and it calmed this very tired and discouraged mommy down too.
- Jackson is adopted and each time I think of his adoption story, I am reminded that I have also been adopted!
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.” ~Ephesians 1:5
When do you feel close to Jesus? If you’re the mom of little ones, how has your relationship with Jesus changed and how do you find quiet moments with Him?
Jen says
That is so beautiful. This has been a struggle for me, too, especially because I need a lot of time & space to be able to think and process. Even recently, I’ve been realizing my need to actually find those places to seek Jesus instead of filling my time with tv or Facebook or random things. I try to open the Bible and even read something to Bella & Declan once or twice a day. (Try….sometimes I completely forget!) But, just like singing the songs to them soothes us just as much, so do these moments of reading or praying, taking moments in the day for all of us to pause. Of course, that’s the difference between then (pre-mommy days) and now. Now, it’s usually just a moment instead of many moments! 😉 I love this. So glad you shared!