Exodus 33:14 (NIV) The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
Motherhood is just about the most exhausting job I have ever done. It doesn’t stop, you don’t get breaks, and you don’t get to call in a substitute when you are sick. One side effect of motherhood is exhaustion…pure and complete, all consuming exhaustion. Not every day is like this, but many are when you have a house full of little ones. These are the days when I find my self on the verge of yelling. When I am tired, it seems like it takes more energy than I have to stop and parent in a Quiet Grace Filled manner. How am I supposed to get through those days without yelling?
Of course, the obvious answer is “get some sleep”, or some such nonsense. If you have children of the tender young age of 0 days -18 yrs, you know that moms just don’t get to sleep when they want to. We sleep when we can. So, that solution won’t work, at least for me.
OK then, how do I get rest? In Exodus, God was preparing Moses for the work ahead of him. Moses knew it would be a doozie, being for all intents and purposes a parent to his entire “people”, but God replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” That is pretty comforting. If Moses can lead an entire group of whining, complaining, ungrateful people by trusting in the Lord to give him rest, I know that I can lead my little merry band of mess makers while daily leaning on the Lord for rest.
It only takes a moment…a prayer…a song…a scripture verse…a sweet “I love you” from a child, to find rest. As mothers, we can take our rest in the Lord. Don’t worry, we’ll sleep when they go off to college. Or, maybe not…my mom still calls to check in on me and I have been away from their home longer than I was in it.
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