Confessions for a Tired Mom | I Am Making an Eternal Investment

Hi friends. It’s been awhile since I’ve written something here—about 6 months to be exact! I’ve been on a journey of tending more deeply to my little people, and it’s prompted me to recognize the power of my words and thoughts in this journey of motherhood, especially when the days feel long. There are so many confessions of tired moms, I wanted to make confessions for tired moms. This isn’t a rant; this is a way to reform our speech to create the harvest we want to see.

Have you ever made it to the end of your day and felt like there was zero return on investment? You woke up early, spent the entire day cleaning, wiping butts, changing diapers, making meals and snacks, calming down tantrums and meltdowns, breaking up sibling squabbles, and the list goes on. There was no thank you at the end of the day, no immediate change of behavior, no accolades or recognition. Just you and your tired self to repeat the cycle the next day. Or maybe you’ve spent the entire day worried about your teen-aged or young adult children. Maybe they are far from the Lord or are living a life different than you imagined, and your heart aches. You struggle to see the fruit from the seeds you have planted throughout the years.

Parenting is one of the hardest and most beautiful things that some of us will ever do. Some days are pure bliss, and other days it is a struggle just to keep our own mental sanity and keep going strong. It’s on these days that I like to remind myself that I am making an eternal investment—far beyond what my eyes and mind can comprehend.

I read something a few months ago that was speaking to the fact that sometimes as parents we get so consumed with trying to control all of our children’s experiences to make sure they never have a negative one. We all want to give our kids the best things--we want to buy them the best items, invest in vacations, and try to make sure everything is solid 100% of the time. The problem is, on this side of heaven, we cannot control everything. And when we fix our eyes solely on the physical investment of the things of this earth, there will be limits. Absolutely nothing is wrong with earthly investments—I’m all about giving my kids the best things life has to offer. But I noticed that when I get too caught up in focusing on what I can see, that I totally miss the greater investment that requires more of my attention. That is, the state of their souls.

There is an eternal investment of leading our children into the beautiful knowledge of Jesus. Paul says it plainly in Philippians 3:7-8 when he says, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” Steffany Gretzinger says in her song The Narrow Way, “is it even sacrifice if I trade the world for You?” The greatest gift in life is to know Jesus. When we teach our children about the greatness of this relationship, trading the world for Jesus hopefully won’t even feel like a sacrifice—it will be their greatest delight.

There is something beautiful about the investment in our children of teaching them that knowing Jesus is greater than any accolade, any commodity, and any of the greatest things this world Has to offer.

Precious friend—those late night prayers, those early morning rises to seek His face on behalf of your children, the patience you show in the face of adversity, the love you give even when the conditions are less than ideal, the example of Jesus you set before them, when they see you praying, lifting hands in worship, when you tell them Bible stories, encourage them to go with you to church, etc—these are seeds that are building eternal treasures in Heaven. The greatest thing we can leave our children with is an investment in their relationship with Jesus.

So, the next time you have reached the end of the day and you are feeling depleted, or are feeling like nothing you did today measured up to anything. Remember—our lives are but a vapor and we must set our eyes on things above. I know friends, this isn’t always easy but we must contend for this. There will come day of reckoning where everything will be made right, and every Kingdom seed you sow into your child is worth every ounce of sacrifice.

Friends—you’re crushing it and you’re gonna keep growing and growing. 🌱

““Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

-R 💚