When the morning light is barely dawning, you drag yourself out of bed already dreading what the day holds. The baby is crying and the kids are fighting before breakfast is finished. The morning is long and naps are short. Dinner burns on the stove and bedtime can’t come soon enough. The frustrating part is that you know in a few hours, you will get to do it all over again. You look in the mirror and see yourself as a character in the movie Groundhog Day questioning how you can break the cycle. Doesn’t God have more for you?

Oh, I get it.  I remember well those days when I wondered if the roller coaster of motherhood with littles would ever pull to a stop so I could get off. While I loved my little blessings, I was exhausted. I longed for a purpose and a passion for living. I was torn between what I wanted to do to serve God and the season of life I was in. And how could I do both with spit-up on my shirt and a permanent pony tail in my hair?

I found three verses that gave me hope and brought truth that helped me embrace the season I was in with four littles at my feet.

Truth #1: God Loves Mommies. I love this verse from Isaiah 40:11.

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Isaiah declares our Sovereign Lord a Shepherd tending His flock. Throughout the Bible we are called God’s sheep. Verse 11 illustrates how He gathers all His sheep and holds them close. But I love the last line – God is specifically gentle with those who have young. God knows motherhood can be brutal and He is never far away.

Truth #2: Motherhood is a Ministry. While my eyes get distracted by the needs of the world and I am itching to make a difference, I have learned to look at my home as a mission field.  Furthermore, it’s a mission field in which we are commanded to serve. Deuteronomy 6:5-7 instructs us to impress upon our children that the Lord is God and we are to love Him with all our heart, soul, and strength. The verse goes on to say,

Talk about [the commandments] when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

This is a big order but it reminds me that my time and attention is required at home.

Truth #3: Motherhood of Littles is a Season. This year I released our youngest to Kindergarten. I still can’t believe that he’s old enough to be out of diapers and yet he is learning so much, making friends, and blossoming into a little boy who loves to read his Bible. I blinked and my season of littles is over. Now I am in the season of tweens. Soon I will move into the season of teens followed by college kids and finally an empty nest. Each season brings about its challenges but God is showing me that He has a specific place in each season for me to join Him in His work. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says,

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

What season of motherhood are you in? Can I encourage you to embrace it? While you may feel like you are stuck in an endless time loop, I think we can learn to have life to the full (John 10:10) in each season and even enjoy the days just like Bill Murray’s character found humor in the repetitiveness of Groundhog Day. Because before you know it, the season we are in will be gone.