The Gift of Time: 5 Practical Tips for New Moms
Not long ago, I rode a bus into downtown Pittsburgh every morning as the sun rose over the Allegheny River. I worked in a skyscraper, conducted team meetings in local coffee shops, and used jargon like “let’s keep this high level.” I returned home sometime after 5 o’clock, and, alongside my husband, felt the struggle to keep a clean house, cook dinner, serve our local church, and be hospitable to others. Time was money and there was never enough of it.
Then, eight months ago, our son was born. Twenty-four hours of labor, that hungry cry, and suddenly time meant something entirely different. Somewhere in my transition from working in heels to working in sweatpants, I realized time is a slippery thing, quick to dissolve like sugar in hot tea. After a results-oriented adulthood, I started to ask the Lord, “How do I live a meaningful life? How do I use my time well?”
Ephesians 5:15-17 gives us an imperative: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
The call to be careful how we walk, to make the best use of time, is a command for all Christians, mothers included. But do postpartum moms experience unique challenges? Certainly. Perpetual brain fog, baby blues, unpredictable interruptions, fluctuating hormones, and 24/7 responsibilities come to mind. This season looks different for everyone—some of us are adjusting to stay-at-home motherhood for the first time while others are taking maternity leave from a job. We may not be able to take on much outside work or service while snuggling, feeding, and caring for a dependent newborn. But even while we’re occupied by these valuable tasks, we can commit each day and hour to the Lord and trust that he will help us faithfully steward them for his glory. Here are a few other practical ways we can use our time in this unique season:
Repurpose our phones. The baby finally falls asleep and Instagram calls like a siren. Just a few moments of your time. Oops, have 30 minutes passed already? Limiting social media with timers or removing it from our phones entirely can be a couple of solutions when “scroll temptation” starts chipping away at our productivity or rest.
I recently downloaded a Bible memory verse app and found that this is a low-energy way of drinking in God’s Word when I just want to look at my phone. Plus, committing a verse to memory can provide a sense of accomplishment as fulfilling as putting a checkmark on the to-do list. As the Psalmist tells us, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul” (Psalm 19:7).
We can also use our phones to care for others. It can be as simple as sending a check-in text like, “I’m thinking of you. How can I pray for you?”
Pray without ceasing. While juggling tasks as new moms, we may not have the opportunity for hour-long prayer closet intercession. But we can talk to the Lord while folding laundry, driving in the car, scrubbing dishes, or rocking the baby to sleep. I keep a premade prayer list for each day of the week, so I have a starting point whenever my brain is foggy and distracted. Motherhood brings very real challenges to focused prayer time, but God encourages our continual conversation with him and assures us that he hears our prayers and requests.[1]
Get outside. We can refresh our mind and body by taking a walk or sitting on a swing. God sends swift breezes and sunshine to revive the soul, to remind us of his goodness and strength in the midst of our work each day.[2]
Set goals. Motherhood doesn’t mean the cessation of personal goals and dreams. Prioritizing one thing for each day, even for a half hour after the baby goes to bed, can add up to real progress. Maybe it’s practicing piano, reading a good book, researching for a small business loan, or writing 500 words in that novel. We may not be able to evangelize our entire neighborhood, but is there one relationship we can intentionally invest in? One person we can love well? Are there specific responsibilities God has put in our path that we can more faithfully steward? Having a clear mission in our motherhood helps to guide all our decisions—big and small—about how to fill those many minutes of our day.
Give conscious thanks for little moments. Cries in the middle of the night, unrestrained giggles at the family dog, and splashes in the bathtub—they fade as quickly as phases of the moon, each moment a gift to be savored. We cannot hold time in our hands, but we can wring it out for all its worth. In a life of imperfections, we can still choose to consciously thank the Lord whenever we experience his goodness in sweet voices and sticky hugs and milk-drunk smiles.[3]
Of course, there’s no manual for exactly how to make the best use of our time. No checklist, no beginner’s guidebook, no flashing road sign. And yet, the command in Ephesians tells us to “understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17). How can the Word ask us to understand God’s will without providing specifics? Therein lies the beauty of a text that is fresh and relevant and alive through all ages, for all peoples. Often Scripture does not tell us what things to do, but how to do all things.
Rest in Jesus’s sufficiency, trust in God’s sovereignty, love our neighbors, walk in humility, persevere in faith.
The purpose of life, even in the demanding new mom stage, isn’t to use our time perfectly but to endure in faith. Thank God that his goodness and faithfulness are unfazed by our lack of discipline, exhaustion, emotion, or dysfunction. His mercies are new every morning.[4] When I think of this verse, I’m reminded of pink light warming the surface of the river on my old route to work. Each time the sun rises, God brings the gift of starting again.
[1] Romans 12:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Hebrews 4:16; 1 John 5:14
[2] Romans 1:20
[3] Psalm 127:3; James 1:17
[4] Lamentations 3:23
