When I was a young girl in high school, I remember dreading that time of year when we would do Track and Field in PE. Oh, those hurdles. I wasn’t a runner to begin with. Add a few hurdles and I was a mess, usually with skinned knees and one bruised ego. But our teacher would encourage me to try again. “Get back up and do it again! You’ll get it this time.”, he’d say.

I didn’t want to get back up or try again, but I did. And usually, I tripped over that hurdle once more.

Does motherhood ever feel like that to you? You’re running along, sometimes with ease, but often fighting for your breath, heart racing, hands shaking, feeling stretched to your very limit. And then just when you think you might make it, there’s a hurdle…only you can’t see it and it catches you off guard landing you straight on your knees.

Me too. One thing I know for sure, though…God did not call me to be a track star. No, He called me to be a mother. And He’s called you to that same ministry. Those literal hurdles of my youth are long gone, but they remind me of the personal struggles we, as moms, face every single day. Those personal hurdles that cause us to fall down and cry out to God, They come in all shapes and sizes.

My obstacles take root deep in my heart and mind and only those closest to me get to see how often I struggle to get up again and again. It’s wearying. It wrecks me and often leaves my heart feeling flat and in a place where all I am able to see are my flaws. But I do get up because of Him. Jesus reminds me of my calling. And the friends He’s blessed me with, they remind me of who I am too. Sometimes we have to have fallen down to hear God’s voice, to hear Him tell us about our human condition in a way only a desperate heart can understand.

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said:“Blessed are the poor in spirit,   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:1-3

Right away we see that Jesus knows our brokenness…and He blesses us anyway. This was the very first thing He taught to his disciples on the Mount of Olives.

Have you known a poverty of spirit that you can liken to weariness? When all I can see are my flaws and I feel unable to rise up and DO the thing God is calling me to, I am weary. And then I feel almost embarrassed because in my mind, I feel like I should be stronger by now, I should have no trouble finding joy in this unbelievable life I’m blessed with. My fears should be gone because I was not given a spirit of fear and yet my humanness still fears. And I am weary over the fact that I struggle to have more victory in the everyday.

Sound familiar?

Sweet moms, none of us are perfect and we all struggle in our mothering. It’s why I’m fighting the enemy hard on this one, why being vulnerable with you and my God removes all the secrecy of weariness and redeems it for His glory. When we do this, we walk together out in the light, not hidden away where we’re suffering alone. We need one another. We need to know we can’t possibly be the only ones who feel poor in spirit…who feel exhausted by life. Let’s be comforted by Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:3. He isn’t telling us to be better moms or do more, to clean ourselves up and get over that hurdle alone. No, Jesus blesses the poor in spirit. He joins us where we are and helps us over and through our sufferings. He gives us Hope when we are down.

As a mom of four young boys who are loud and wild and beautiful all at the same time…I am so thankful that my weariness, although very real and pretty constant, does not define who I am. We are women, created by God, fearfully and wonderfully made, fully equipped for this great calling to Motherhood with all of it’s hurdles and challenges and yes, sufferings that cause us to fall down and pray. All the while our hearts are being purified. And then, God calls us to get back up and walk with Him again.

Praying for you this week sweet sisters. Will you share your heart here with us in the comments below today? We’d love to hear your story, know how we can pray for you and get to know you more.

Megan Spires @  Devotional Motherhood

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