Over the years, especially since becoming a mother of three boys, many people have asked me, “How do you keep going?”
Sometimes I smile because motherhood is not a task I can simply put down when it becomes difficult. My children still need to be loved, taught and cared for. But I know the question is usually asked with kindness, and it has made me think more deeply about what keeps me going.
We live in a time when personal comfort and feelings are often treated as the highest authority. Feelings matter, and I have learnt not to pretend that mine do not exist. But they cannot be my final guide. There are seasons when obedience to God is costly and tiring, yet still good.
I have struggled with this more times than I would like to admit. I have had days when I wanted to withdraw, days when the work felt repetitive and unseen, and days when I wondered whether I was doing enough.
What grounds me is remembering that motherhood is more than the short season in which my boys live at home with me. Motherhood is a calling from God and a sacred stewardship. My children are not my possessions or proof of how well I have lived. They are precious lives God has entrusted to my care.
This calling does not mean that a mother must ignore her limits, carry every burden alone or feel guilty for needing rest. It does not make exhaustion holy or place the whole future of a child on one woman's shoulders. God gives us families, communities, wisdom and help for a reason.
Calling means I do not measure the value of my work only by how I feel on a difficult day or by how much the world celebrates it.
First Corinthians 15 ends with the hope of resurrection. Because Christ has conquered death, Paul tells believers to stand firm and give themselves fully to the work of the Lord, knowing that their labour is not in vain. That promise reaches into our ordinary obedience. Work offered to Christ has meaning even when we cannot yet see its fruit.
Hebrews 6:10 assures believers that God does not forget the work and love shown in His name. Much of motherhood happens without an audience. There are prayers no one hears, choices no one applauds and ordinary acts of care that may never be remembered by anyone else.
God sees them.
He sees the love behind the work, including the days when it is offered through tired hands. He also sees the moments when I fall short and need His forgiveness. His grace meets me in both places.
I am not trying to earn God's love through motherhood. In Christ, I am already loved and accepted. Grace is where my mothering begins. Because I belong to Him, I can offer Him the work of my hands without needing it to prove my worth.
Paul's words in 2 Timothy 1:12 were written during his own costly service to Christ. His confidence did not come from easy circumstances or guaranteed outcomes. He was convinced that God was trustworthy and able to keep what had been committed to Him.
That gives me courage as a mother.
I cannot control every chapter of my children's lives. My faithfulness cannot take the place of their own need to know and follow God. But I can pray, teach, love, correct, apologise when I am wrong and place what I cannot control into God's hands.
My confidence as a mother is not in how well I perform from one day to the next. Some days go well. Other days expose my weakness. My confidence rests in the faithful God who carries me and watches over the children He has given me.
When my eyes are fixed on Him, I can continue without pretending that I have everything together. The hope of eternity steadies me. I can do today's work with love and leave the lasting results with God.
Dear mum, your motherhood may not receive the recognition you hoped for. Some of your most faithful work may remain unseen by other people. But it is not unseen by God, and it is not wasted when it is offered to Him.
You do not need enough strength for every year ahead. Ask God for grace to be faithful today. Love the children in front of you. Do the next thing He has placed in your hands. When you reach the end of your own strength, entrust yourself and your children to the One who is able to keep you.
Your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
A quiet prayer
Father, thank You for the children You have entrusted to me. Forgive me for the times I have measured my motherhood by my feelings, my performance or the approval of others. Help me remember that I am already loved and accepted in Christ. Give me grace for today's work, wisdom for the decisions before me and humility to receive help when I need it. I place myself and my children in Your hands. Keep my eyes fixed on You, and teach me to serve faithfully while trusting You with every outcome. In Jesus' name, amen.
Hold on to this today
“My confidence is not in a perfect day. It is in the faithfulness of God.”
Choose one unseen act of motherhood today and offer it to God in prayer.