When God created a mother, He created her to love and serve in every moment. He knew the constant need would sometimes overwhelm her and she would have no choice but to rely on His strength and grace. He knew she would feel like there weren’t enough hours in the day . . . so God made midnight.
He knew a mama’s days with a newborn would be busy and sometimes chaotic. He knew she would be distracted by meeting needs and attempting to find balance—that sneaking in a hot shower would become almost a luxury . . . so God made midnight.
After stumbling to the crib, in the peaceful quiet of the night, she finds the strength and energy she needs in the face of her sweet babe. It’s time for just a mama and her baby—God’s gift to her. She soaks up the uninterrupted moments to gaze into her baby’s eyes, count tiny fingers, and stroke the soft skin of newborn cheeks. Her exhaustion remains, but it’s accompanied by the joy of new life.
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God knew a toddler would rarely slow down enough for the snuggles a mama cherishes. He knew she would feel her heart ache with each new milestone—celebrating new accomplishments while simultaneously grieving the too-fast passage of time . . .
So God made midnight.
And though the piercing cry of “Mommy!” interrupts the sleep she had just come to know again, she walks to her baby-turned-toddler’s room, grateful to still be the one he needs. She scoops him into her arms and holds him close, breathing in his scent and remembering those midnight moments when she held him as a tiny baby.
God knew that as her babies turned into big kids, they would need her less and less, but every once in a while, a bad dream would wake them in the night and they’d need the comfort only a mom provides . . . so God made midnight.
Her child walks softly into her room and whispers, “Mom, I had a bad dream.” She pulls back the covers, making room beside her. She gently rubs the back of the little girl she once held in her arms, knowing these midnight moments slip away without being given permission to fade.
God knew a teenager’s day would be full of friends, school, activities, practices, and work—leaving few daylight hours for the one who used to be their whole world. He knew it would be a season of pulling away and gaining independence that would leave a mother’s heart both filled with pride and broken by the growing distance between her and her child . . . so God made midnight.
Because even a teenager seeking her own way needs the subtle guidance of her mother.
So she sits on the edge of the bed in the silent hours of night, listening. Teenage emotions—fear, confusion, anger, sadness—spill into the room while the mother sits, silently praying, begging for the right words. She knows these moments are sacred, made even more so by the realization that soon, her child will sit on a bed outside the safety and comfort of their home. So she gladly gives up time in her own bed to sit on the edge of her daughter’s.
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God knew a mother would take to heart the words, “pray without ceasing,” but that her mind would be heavy with the mental load of mothering, making intentional, focused prayer difficult in her waking hours . . . so God made midnight.
Startled by a sudden thought, an indescribable need to pray for her children, she lies awake in the still of night. Her weary eyes and body crave sleep, but her soul is led to prayer. She prays for their safety, their future, the struggles they face, and tells God how grateful she is to have them in her life.
Her midnight prayers drift to the throne of the Heavenly Father as He wraps her in His arms and she drifts back to sleep.
God knew that when children become adults, branching out and building their own lives, they would carry their mother’s love with them. And He knew they’d return to the home where her love taught them to become who they were created to be . . . so God made midnight.
Late nights with her grown children gathered around the kitchen table, cards and board games fill the space where little hands once folded in prayer before family meals. Tonight they stay up late, laughing, sharing memories of days gone by. And a mother’s heart is full once again, surrounded by her children, soaking up a new kind of midnight moment.
You see, God knew a mother’s heart would hold more love than what could be poured out in the daylight hours . . . so God made midnight.