How to Find Gold in Every Season of Motherhood

Seasons change dramatically in Pennsylvania. Winter spreads a blanket of snow over the bare trees until a warm breeze coaxes new buds from the branches. The summer sun finds us picnicking under green leafy canopies until a sudden cold snap sends us scrambling for our sweaters as crimson leaves glide down to the earth. Motherhood, too, changes dramatically, giving way to its own seasons of rest, growth, and harvest. While we adapt to our constantly changing lives as moms, we can rely on God’s constancy. One of my favorite hymns, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” by Thomas Chisholm, expresses His steadfastness perfectly. If you’re not familiar with this one, I invite you to look up the words or listen to it being sung. Oh, it’s so good!

In seasons of dormancy when we are lying on the couch in a dimly lit room, God is still at work. We might not be able to do much, but we can look for His faithfulness and be amazed by His unfaltering care for us. We may worry about our children: Are they getting enough attention? Is our weakness dragging them down?

But God works through our difficult seasons to draw our children close to Himself and to plant good seeds in their souls. Our children learn a lot from us when we are weak. They see other Christians visit and care for us. They learn life skills like how to suffer, recover, and rely on the Lord. They meet a God who will never leave or forsake them (Heb. 13:5).

If your child can say, “God was faithful to my mom when she was sick or injured or depressed,” God gave your child gold in a season when you thought he or she was missing out. Often in our weakest seasons, our children take their first steps in our Good Shepherd’s footprints: they glimpse His faithfulness and learn to be like Him.

God works through our difficult seasons to draw our children close to Himself and to plant good seeds in their souls.

Thankfully, motherhood probably won’t be a never-ending winter. At just the right time, some light will warm the soil of our souls and we’ll feel more like ourselves again. When we are well rested, healthy, and clearheaded, we’ll want to seek the Lord’s guidance for how we can make the most of our time with our kids. Using all that we learned when we were down and out, the Holy Spirit will grow the fruit of faithfulness in us and help us stick with our kids no matter what, keep our word, and do what’s right.

Remember, mothering is not like pouring water through a sieve where each day’s investment runs out by nightfall, but instead, mothering is like filling a deep well. Each day’s work accumulates a faith in God, a Jesus-centered worldview, and a Christlike character that will sustain our children even when we are weak. Becoming wise about the seasons of motherhood means seeking God’s grace to do our best when we are able, trusting Him with the outcome.