Love Them Harder

A Gift for Mom! 🤍

Love them harder.

The toddler who threw an epic tantrum?

Maybe he’s bored right now.

Or confused.

Or picking up on everyone else’s emotions.

Love him harder.

RELATED: Dear Child, I Know This is Hard On You Too

The teenager who’s frustrated and full of attitude?

Maybe she’s lonely and upset about these circumstances.

She misses her friends.

She’s thinking about everything she’s missing out on.

Love her harder.

Your spouse who’s been short-tempered. Who’s overreacting about the tiniest things.

Who seems extra worried.

Who hasn’t been loving you in your love language.

Maybe he’s carrying worries he’s too afraid to communicate right now.

Love him harder.

RELATED: To the Suddenly Unemployed Spouse, We’re In This Together

The stranger you passed on the sidewalk.

The one who didn’t say “hi” back.

The one who gave a dirty look.

The one who didn’t look up from her phone.

Maybe she’s sinking into depression.

Love her harder.

The friend who forgot to call back.

The one you have been trying to get ahold of.

She just never returns your call.

Maybe she’s overwhelmed and just doing the best she can to get by right now.

Love her harder.

The elderly man who said something nasty at the grocery store.

The one who seems so negative and grumpy.

Maybe his wife has a pre-existing condition.

Maybe he’s terrified.

Love him harder.

The mom friend who’s complaining a lot.

The one who isn’t savoring the moments with her kids right now.

The one who always sees the glass half empty.

Maybe she’s suffering from anxiety and can’t seem to climb her way out.

RELATED: To The Mother Who Is Overwhelmed

Love her harder.

Maybe it’s even the Airbnb host.

The one who’s not giving you a full refund for the vacation you planned but now have to cancel.

Maybe he’s sinking financially. And even though you deserve to get your full money back . . . maybe we can at least understand.

Love them harder.

Friends, everyone is battling right now.

We’re all battling in a different way.

Maybe you’re the one holding it together.

Maybe you’re falling apart.

Maybe it’s different every day.

Let’s love harder.

Because we’re all in this together.

This post originally appeared on Messy Footprints

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Kaleigh Christensen

Kaleigh is a stay at home mom, wife, and former Kindergarten teacher. In her spare time she loves to write about the things that matter. She shares real and honest vulnerability about the ups and downs of motherhood, marriage, infertility, miscarriage, and just plain life. She loves to inspire others to find the beauty mixed in with the mess of life. To read more of her writings, like her Facebook page, Messy Footprints, @MessyFootprints

Motherhood With an Invisible Illness Feels Like Surviving in Plain Sight

In: Living

There’s a kind of exhaustion that’s impossible to translate. Not the “I stayed up too late” tired. Not even the newborn, up-every-two-hours kind of tired. It’s something heavier. The kind that settles deep into your bones and makes even the simplest task feel like you’re pushing against gravity. Living with Sjögren’s syndrome and discoid lupus while raising young kids means carrying a weight no one else can see, and one that’s almost impossible to understand unless you’ve lived it yourself. The closest comparison I’ve ever found is the first trimester of pregnancy. That overwhelming, all-consuming fatigue where your body feels...

Keep Reading

These Simple Summers Will Live In My Heart Forever

In: Living

There’s something I love about summers with the kids, more than any other time of the year. It’s not my favorite season, not even close. But I will always look back on the summers spent with our kids as some of the most beautiful, joyful, yet simple memories of our life together. And that’s just it—it’s the simplicity of summer that makes it so magical. It’s the weightlessness of “nowhere to be,” and the way the kids settle into a routine that’s not a routine at all. I love watching them run through the yard, popsicle in hand, red strawberry...

Keep Reading

We’re Trusting God through Unemployment

In: Living

The calendar tells me that almost three months ago today, my husband and I resigned from our joint position as house parents in a residential foster care ministry. Three months of no income. Three months of moving to a new state, navigating new doctors, two brand new schools for our daughters, and a smaller living space. Three months of looking at each other and knowing how hard it is to wait for a paycheck. One day, I dared to check the bank account, and my body quivered when I saw the balance. We had savings, but I am pretty sure...

Keep Reading

Some Friendships Are Not Meant To Last Forever

In: Friendship

I remember hearing as a child that not all friendships last forever. Back then, I didn’t believe it. Not my friendships. We had grown up together—through elementary school, through high school. We were inseparable. Plans were made around each other, and life felt like it would always look that way. But life has a way of changing things. I became a young mom, trying to figure out who I was while also learning how to be everything my children needed. At the same time, I was still holding tightly to the friendships that had been part of my life for...

Keep Reading

My Sister-In-Law Is the Sister I Always Wanted

In: Living

There’s a very specific kind of longing that sometimes comes with growing up without a sister. Yes, I had half-siblings on my dad’s side, but they were older and out there living their adult lives. My brother and I were always very close despite the age difference. He was the cool, funny, rockstar big brother who was (and always will be) a big kid at heart, and I was incredibly grateful for that. But still, there was always this quiet, persistent longing for something else: a sister. Someone who would be mine in that way only sisters understand. You know,...

Keep Reading

The Life I Love Was Built From the Life That Broke Me

In: Living, Marriage

In my early- to mid-twenties, everything felt like it was unraveling. I was depressed, uninspired, dealing with health issues I didn’t fully understand, and carrying the weight of past trauma I didn’t yet have the language for. At the same time, I was wading through a dating pool that felt more like I was unintentionally starring in an episode of Punk’d, all while still carrying the scars of a serious relationship that ended in betrayal—cheating that didn’t just break my heart, but shattered my sense of trust in a way I wasn’t prepared for. For a while, I stayed there....

Keep Reading

My Mom Was Just 13 When I Was Born. Now That I’m a Mother, I See Her Differently.

In: Living

There are only 13 years and 11 months between us. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been—how lonely it must have felt at times. A childhood cut short, replaced with responsibilities that were night and day. Confusion and love, all wrapped into one. Growing up, it felt like I had a big sister beside me. A friend I loved with everything in me. But she wasn’t just a friend. She was my mother. I relied on her for guidance, for reassurance, for someone to look up to. And now I find myself wondering, how could she give me...

Keep Reading

Why Don’t We Talk About Jonah’s Mother?

In: Faith, Living, Motherhood

Praying for My Son Send a storm to stop him; Let his friends throw him out. May he drop to the deeps, But gently, please, Stubborn though he may be. If it could only take three days, How my mother’s heart would Rejoice in praise. From the hell you allow him, Let him cry to you. Is not Nineveh and mercy Exactly what he knows He needs— A mercy on enemies He fears You will concede? Please let all the shade wither If his is an angry soul; Humble him and help him follow Where you would have his purpose...

Keep Reading

I Never Got to Meet My Grandmother on This Side of Heaven

In: Living

Grandmother, I never met you this side of Heaven, but I feel as though I have. Your pictures, scattered throughout my mother’s home, tell your story. Born to a woman who came to this country alone when she was just 16, you would be the youngest of four, with two sisters and a brother. Your short, dark, straight hair clings to your little face, a line of bangs neatly combed high on your forehead. You couldn’t be more than three years old as you sit on a stool at your sister’s First Holy Communion. The black and white photo makes...

Keep Reading

The Hardest Part of Divorce Is Being Away from My Kids

In: Living, Marriage, Motherhood

I’ve written several times about how divorce has allowed me to find myself again, and how that version is even better than the one I was before I was married. All of that is still true. I am happier than I’ve ever been. More confident and sure of myself. I understand my emotions and how to handle myself when things get tough or scary. I am more grounded and calm than I’ve ever been. Truly, I have come out on top. I’ve received comments about how happy I look, how I’m “living my best life with kids only half the...

Keep Reading

Supporting a Family Member With Cancer Right Now is So Hard

Cancer

Supporting a Family Member With Cancer Right Now is So Hard

Postpartum Life in Isolation is Hard

Baby

Motherhood With an Invisible Illness Feels Like Surviving in Plain Sight

These Simple Summers Will Live In My Heart Forever

We’re Trusting God through Unemployment

Some Friendships Are Not Meant To Last Forever

My Sister-In-Law Is the Sister I Always Wanted

The Life I Love Was Built From the Life That Broke Me

My Mom Was Just 13 When I Was Born. Now That I’m a Mother, I See Her Differently.

Why Don’t We Talk About Jonah’s Mother?

I Never Got to Meet My Grandmother on This Side of Heaven

The Hardest Part of Divorce Is Being Away from My Kids

Get It Now

So God Made a Mother

Or picking up on everyone else’s emotions.

Maybe he’s carrying worries he’s too afraid to communicate right now.

The friend who forgot to call back.

The one who isn’t savoring the moments with her kids right now.

Friends, everyone is battling right now.

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Motherhood With an Invisible Illness Feels Like Surviving in Plain Sight

These Simple Summers Will Live In My Heart Forever

We’re Trusting God through Unemployment

Some Friendships Are Not Meant To Last Forever

My Sister-In-Law Is the Sister I Always Wanted

The Life I Love Was Built From the Life That Broke Me

My Mom Was Just 13 When I Was Born. Now That I’m a Mother, I See Her Differently.

Why Don’t We Talk About Jonah’s Mother?

I Never Got to Meet My Grandmother on This Side of Heaven

The Hardest Part of Divorce Is Being Away from My Kids

Previous Post

Next Post

You May Also Like