“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.”
Psalm 62:1
If there is one word to describe how moms usually feel at the end of each day, the mothers themselves would blurt out the word TIRED. And as a mom if three, I guess this is a universal thing because this is how stereotypical moms are depicted in almost all movies and TV series across all cultures. Korean Moms, American Moms, Chinese Moms, Latina Moms, Black Moms, name it — there will be one scene that they are just way too tired.
I even think that we moms, AT TIMES, take pride in tiredness. Have you ever had that conversation with fellow parents and it is like you are one upping each other on who slept much later than whom, who got to do more chores, or cooked too many meals, or did so and so for each child? Those who were fortunate enough to have househelp also have concerns of their own — hiring and training helpers every so and so, managing the household, driving and chaperoning the kids, juggling the schedules. And do not get started with career moms who deal with stressors from all fronts.
Anyhow, know that in the face of these physical, emotional and mental tiredness, the Lord is reaching out to us to rest in Him. Psalm 23:2 states “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.” Our Almighty King even modeled rest for us: “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” Genesis 2:2-3
God knew that there should be a balance between labor and rest, and so he COMMANDS us to rest our bodies and our souls at least one day each week. We moms may say that this is not possible because the kids need us 24/7 weekends included but we can take a cue from Jewish moms who observe Shabbat. Check out their youtube videos and see them preparing extra meals on weekdays so that they would no longer need to cook the whole Saturday. What I am saying is, we can intentionally lessen the chores that we do on Sundays, so that we can focus on worshipping the Lord and resting with our families.
For instance, if you have extra budget then why not order out on Sundays? Use paper plates to lessen the amount of dirty dishes, and refrain from doing the laundry or heavy cleaning. This way we get refreshed, ready to listen to the Word of God and worship, and at least relax before the start of another week. We should indeed rest to avoid resenting our chores, resenting our roles at home, and resenting our responsibilities. Intentionally resting negates the hustle and bustle of the busy weekdays that often lead to bitterness on our part. Remember how we have the tendency to snap at our family members when we are bone tired? Let us be careful because if the bitterness due to busyness goes out of hand, burn-out will soon ensue. Let us grab on to our Heavenly Father’s hand and take a respite from our busy world.
More importantly, the rest being offered by the Lord is more than physical rest but the peace of mind that allows us to be joyful every day amidst life challenges. We can only achieve this if we try to commune with Him every day through our prayer time, daily bible reading, quiet reflection and of course by abiding by His commands. In Exodus 33:14, the Lord assured Moses that He will be with Him since Moses found favor in His eyes: “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Now nothing beats having the assurance that you are doing what God wills you to do, and holding on to His promises. <3
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to read Matthew 11:28-30 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: When was the last time you truly rested? How did it make you feel?
Conversation with the Lord: Almighty Father, I praise and thank you for the gift of rest. For telling us that we should take a respite and for offering us a good place to lean our weary hearts and souls. I pray that I take on this offer amidst the world’s whispers that as a mom, I have to be busy all the time. May I get to realize that by resting on you, I get to become the better mother you ordained me to be. Amen.
Thank you for stopping by and till next post!