Redeeming the Little Moments of Motherhood
After six childless years of marriage, motherhood came like a long-awaited gift received with much joy. Our parents celebrated with us. The church sent cards and meals. We ran for every cry and melted with each toothless smile. But long after we settled into our new life, I still struggled deeply with one major change: the loss of my time.
I was used to hours of free time. Hours for devotion and prayer. Hours to study and memorize the word. Hours to drop everything and go to the store, or visit, or do whatever was needed.
When the next baby arrived and the two-year-old stopped taking naps, “hours of time” disappeared. Then number three came as we began homeschooling, and my time seemed to vanish altogether. I felt defeated.
Didn’t I need at least 20 minutes for prayer? Didn’t I need time for Bible memory? Did it count as Bible reading if I just listened to the word? Was I any use to God anymore? These were real questions I wrestled with. And guilt hovered over my soul.
Discover God’s Desire
In the gospel of Luke, the Lord Jesus shares this truth with us: “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much" (16:10, emphasis mine). It’s an example repeated in his word and illustrated through his servants.
Joseph ruled over Egypt, but he was first faithful to his father, in Potiphar’s house, and even in prison.[1] David became king of Israel and is known for his heart after God's heart, but he was first faithful as a shepherd boy, in the courts of Saul, and defending a kingdom not yet his.[2]
And the Bible shares many heroic moments from the life of Moses. But when God defends his servant before Aaron and Miriam, he says, "He is faithful in all my house…" (Num. 12:7, emphasis mine). Of all the large moments from Moses’ life, what does the Lord bring up? “He is faithful in all my house.” We tend to skim over the details in Exodus so quickly—the materials and specific methods used to build the tabernacle—but it was Moses' obedience in these little moments that God highlighted.
Before having children, I never noticed the little moments. Five minutes was no good for anything, it seemed, except skimming a magazine or scrolling through my phone. While I tried to consecrate my larger moments to the Lord, I thought little of the small ones.
But everyone can find five minutes. In the early years of motherhood, that may be all we can find. But as we sit on the toilet, or nurse a baby, or take the dog outside—these moments, I learned, can be redeemed.
Discover the Value of Little Moments
Sometimes five minutes in prayer can bring the afternoon refreshment we need. "They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength," Isaiah tells us (41:30). Next time you feel exhausted—consider laying at his feet for a moment—and see if his promise doesn’t prove true.
Five minutes in the word is enough time to prayerfully copy a verse onto an index card. When the Israelites gathered manna each morning, it took only a few moments. But as they returned to each meal, they received nourishment from the manna gathered earlier.[3] A morning verse, written down and revisited not only provides needed refreshing—we may even memorize it by the end of the day.
And if we’re faithful to spend five minutes writing a note, we can bring great encouragement to someone. How often do Paul's letters mention the name of a saint? He usually doesn't say a lot, just "I thank God for ______" or "greet _______," but how much it must have meant to those saints to know Paul had taken a few moments to pray and think of them!
Choose Him in the Little Moments
It’s true, in motherhood we lose our hours of free time. But if we begin treating our five-minute blocks as valuable, there’s renewed strength hidden in these little moments.
Oh, friends, how many times I’ve struggled to do this. How many times I’ve been at my end, frustrated with my children, worn out from the day, knowing the thing I most need is to come to him, and yet, I’ve picked up my phone instead. I know the temptation. I know it too well.
And yet every time I choose to take my five free minutes and lift my eyes to the Lord, he sends a blessing so wonderful and so rich that I have to praise him for his goodness and apologize for not coming sooner. Whether it's opening the word, lifting my heart in prayer, or just taking a minute to think on him as I fold the laundry, he comforts with his presence and honors the fact that I gave my heart to him in my free moments.
Day after day, the Israelites gathered manna, and the Lord encouraged, “Gather…as much as [you] can eat.” But in God’s gracious arrangement, “whoever gathered little had no lack” (Ex. 16:16–18). Some days we may have a glorious time in the word, others, only a few minutes. But in the wilderness season, when children are young and time is scarce, the Lord is so gentle.[4] He simply asks that we be faithful in the little moments we do have.
The promised land is up ahead, weary momma. These wilderness days are not forever, and soon there may be more time to plant and harvest and gain more of him.[5] But as you navigate this desert land, know the Lord will provide all that is needed, as you gather, little by little from him. May the Lord help our hearts be faithful in the small moments of our days.
[1] See Genesis 37, 39
[2] Acts 13:22
[3] See Exodus 16
[4] Isaiah 40:11
[5] See Joshua 5:12
