To the mom who is weary and worn, facing another sleepless night with her newborn babe. To the mom who is questioning if she can handle the weight of it all—the feeding, the diaper changing, the endless caring of her child. To the mom who finds herself crying and loathing this new world she is drowning in, wondering if she will survive. To the mom who feels shame and guilt in wishing she could somehow stop it all and hide from her sinking existence. To the mom who wants to give up.
To the mom who is frazzled and frayed while caring for her little one’s endless needs. To the mom who faces every day with dread, exhausted and lonely. To the mom who secretly wants a different life than the one she is barely surviving in now. To the mom who resents these restless days of feeling captive in her home and sees no end in sight. To the mom who just wants to cry, feeling isolated and so alone. To the mom who wants to give up.
To the mom who is exhausted and overwhelmed, trying to manage every day with a constant stream of schedules and tasks and obligations she can never fulfill. To the mom who is anxious about how her child is doing, wondering if she is doing this parenting thing right. To the mom who tries to do it all and crumbles under the pressure, comparing herself to other moms and knows she falls short. To the mom who wants to give up.
To the mom who feels rejected and detached from her rebellious kid. To the mom who is desperate to connect, but feels the distance growing. To the mom who is angry her kid doesn’t respect her rules and often betrays her trust. To the mom who is forced to let go and is terrified of her child’s independence. To the mom who is discouraged, praying her kid will start to make good choices. To the mom who has sleepless nights worrying about what will happen next. To the mom who wants to give up.
To the mom who has no control over her kids’ decisions any longer and fears they are making grave mistakes. To the mom who must accept the reality that she has done all she could. To the mom who sits in silence and prays for her child’s safety. To the mom who can’t handle the truth, can’t handle the lies. To the mom who feels hopeless and has no answers. To the mom who constantly wonders what she did wrong. To the mom who must do that hard thing and doesn’t know how. To the mom who wants to give up.
Wherever you are, in whatever stage of parenting and whatever unbearable circumstance you find yourself in . . .
I want to cup your face in my hands, look into your tearful eyes, and tell you this:
You can never give up.
You have been called to this hard place.
You are a mom forever.
Your mission is not done.
When God chose you to raise your child, He believed in you.
You were picked for this specific job with this specific child for a specific purpose.
You can’t stop being a mom.
You can’t quit this assignment.
He designed you for this.
He equipped you to persevere.
He trusts you will endure.
Oh, precious mama, you can never give up.