In all of the books that we might have read about mothering, in all of the conversations that we’ve had with moms and grandmothers who have gone before us, we couldn’t have imagined that we’d be mothering during a pandemic. And yet, here we are. Our daily lives are being shaped by the realities of a virus that has spread its influence across the globe. There are new challenges, new struggles, and unexpected trials for many of us right now. Thankfully, God is not surprised by where we are. He is still in control, and our lives belong to him.

So, in the midst of a world that has changed quickly and radically, how do we respond well? As followers of Christ and mothers to our children, here are four ideas for living faithfully in this unexpected season.

Strengthen Your Own Heart in the Lord 

While investing time in daily schedules, homeschooling efforts, and meal planning are valuable for loving our families, the most necessary thing we need is to daily meet with the Lord.   Spending time in his word and in prayer enables us to move forward in hope and peace.

Many of us have children at home for more hours than we had planned. Others of us are juggling full or part-time work from home along with the needs of our children. Some of us are struggling with health issues and concerns that are compounded by the current situation. And many of us are dealing with financial blows that won’t stop. These are real trials that must be faced. But we cannot face these trials with hope if we are not deeply rooted and established in the love of God and in the truth of his word (Ephesians 3:17)

As we strengthen our hearts in the Lord, the news and struggles of daily life can be put into an eternal perspective. We might experience anxiety and fear, but we can run to God in the midst of it. This pandemic has impacted all of us in different ways, but our need to remember and live out the truth of the gospel remains the same. Even in trials, he is your good Father (see Romans 8:28). He knows what is ahead for you. Spend time with him and allow the gospel to shape how you see your days, responsibilities, and the people you are living with—and watch him transform you from the inside out during this season.

Read the rest of the article here, at Risen Motherhood!

This is the start of my newest piece for Risen Motherhood. You can read the whole article here.

When we moved across the country with a preschooler and a baby struggling with serious medical issues, I found myself in a very narrow season of life. My days were filled with simply doing the next thing—making sure the kids were fed and clothed, setting up utilities in our new home, figuring out where the grocery store was, and running to hardware stores for items we didn’t know we needed.

As a previous work-outside-the-home mom, I found myself in an internal near-panic over the narrowness of my life. In such a season of transition and change, my children needed me deeply. My husband, who was settling into a new pastoral position, was busy with church meetings and staff management. My son’s medical needs dominated the first year of his life, and required a great deal of time, planning, and prayer.

My life, while not actually quiet with two kids, felt very quiet externally. I felt hidden and unseen. I wasn’t involved in any ministries at church yet. I wasn’t writing. I didn’t know our congregation. And I couldn’t quite shake the nagging fear that I was missing out. It was difficult for me to trust that working at these things—things that no one else saw or praised—was the most valuable thing I could be doing. I struggled to rejoice in Paul’s exhortation to “work heartily, as for the Lord” in “whatever” I was doing (Col. 3:23-24). Needing to trust that I was ultimately serving the Lord through the narrowness of my responsibilities challenged my internal markers and vision of success.

You can read the entire article here, at Risen Motherhood!

I’m honored to have my newest piece over at The Gospel Coalition today. Join me there to read the full article!

The shriek of my 1-year-old son broke the short reverie. I rinsed his hands and wiped down the high-chair tray before swinging him to the floor. He toddled off to tackle his sister, who was reading a book in the family room.

I went to join my tousling children, fighting my own rising wave of frustration. Writing was my passion; I had been a writer and a writing teacher for years before becoming a mom. When we had our daughter, my writing work had to scale back; after the birth of our son, it had become almost nonexistent. I felt the loss of that outlet nearly every day. In my worst moments, I saw my children as hindrances to the passions I wanted to pursue.

As mothers, our desires and passions may need to be shelved for years at a time. Whether it’s a ministry we want to join, a hobby we want to pursue, an activity that energizes us, or educational goals we want to accomplish, many good pursuits have to wait—or be dramatically scaled back—when we’re in the thick of mothering young children. This is true both for moms who are full-time caregivers and also for moms who work outside the home. I certainly know the frustration firsthand. But as I sought the Lord’s help, asking him what to do with my feeling of frustration, he began showing me that the frustration itself was a gift—and a way to point me back to him.

Over the long years of wiping runny noses rather than writing eloquent sentences, I learned three ways that frustrated passions can bless us.

Read the rest of the article here, at The Gospel Coalition!

Some of my earliest memories of church are infused with deep pain and confusion. A pastoral affair had ripped our congregation in two, and while, as a seven-year-old, I didn’t know why the church was in such turmoil, the reverberations of broken trust and grief trickled down to even the youngest members. I remember my parents crying about church, and I remember realizing that families I knew had left the church, because I didn’t see some of my friends anymore. A new pastor arrived and I didn’t really understand why. I couldn’t articulate it then, but I internalized something that had the potential to create a wall around my young heart—that church is inevitably a place of pain and brokenness.  

But due to the grace of the Lord and intentionality of my parents, I also internalized something else: church is still worth it. 

I learned this because in the middle of the pain and the heartache, the fractured friendships and the broken trust, my parents didn’t leave the church.    

Instead, they kept showing up. They kept going to church, beleaguered and broken as it was. My parents kept talking about Jesus and singing about Jesus and loving his people and being a part of the Body of Christ in their daily and weekly lives. 

It was a testament to me, even as a young girl, that church was worth a great deal. Their actions and their lives pointed to the truth that while pain in the church might be inevitable, leaving does not have to be. They showed me that there are some things worth risking on and worth fighting for, and church was at the top of that list. 

Why? Because Jesus showed us that the Church was worth risking on to the highest degree: it was worth his life.  

Read the rest of the article here, at Deeply Rooted Magazine!