I recently had a new mama reach out and tell me how deflated she felt over having a consistent quiet time as a new mom.

She wasn’t able to do her typical reading and digging in the scriptures for an hour and she felt stuck. She started to believe the lie that God was expecting more from her instead of what she had as a new mom. I think this is a lot of us as new moms. We’re moving from a productive, peaceful quiet time to sleepless nights, toddler tantrums, and meeting the needs of little ones. Our priorities have shifted and that feels hard. It can sometimes feel impossible to get away with God. Here’s the secret I’ve come to revel in over my first two years as a mom: God is everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. He’s in the mornings and evenings. He’s in the doctor’s office. He’s in your child’s smile and eyes. He isn’t asking you to carve out 3 hours to be with him in the morning. You don’t have to be tucked away in secret with a bible on your lap to communicate with him. He’s right here. The guilt you feel over not being able to “do all the things” or exegetically hash out the book of Exodus is not from God. He isn’t asking you to measure up. He is never going to withhold himself from you. God wants to go with you into every part of your daily life— not just the time when you can carve out space for him.

It’s okay if your Quiet Time looks different as a new mom.

Maybe your quiet time will look like simple breath prayers.

Maybe it will look like reading a chapter a day in community with other busy moms.

Maybe it will look like memorizing a verse while you clean the counters.

Or maybe you just keep a Bible on your countertop and open it whenever you can. Instead of picking up the phone to be drained, go to the source who can refill you in an instant.

My quiet times these days are a little less quiet. Elmo is often in attendance. I’ve made it a practice to read my bible and journal in front of Novi. This is not so I can multitask, it’s so she can see me walking out my faith each morning— if only for 15 minutes at a time. If I ever want her to make time with God a priority, I must first show her the priority it is in my life.

God is calling you to a multifaceted faith, mama… not a social media-worthy quiet time. He’s calling you to reality and he’s not surprised by what your reality actually is. He sees your exhaustion and your semi-sleepless nights. He sees your exasperation and your tired dreams- the ones you feel like you’ll never be able to take hold of again. He sees the way you mourn what used to be and hold it in the same hand as the joy of being a mom. Spoiler alert: you can feel both things at the same time.

You can breathe. You can let go of the hustle to be more in a season where you’re already so much to so many. You can be still even if the stillness is 5 minutes before the baby wakes up. Embrace the change of this season. Give yourself grace.

You’re going to miss the mornings where you can dig in the scriptures for hours. It’s okay to mourn a lost season but also be hopeful that it will visit you again.

Like the Spring and the Fall, it will come back to you one day and you’ll savor it even more.

p.s.

Friend, if you feel like you’re floundering without a solid plan for self-care in the midst of motherhood, you might love my Create Your Better Battle Plan class. It’s quick + simple (you can take notes during naptime) and will give you the tools you need to take care of yourself in a busy, tiring season of motherhood.

I’d love to hear from you:

In moving my blog to a newer platform, I sadly had to let go of the thousands of comments and conversations that came from readers over the last 10+ years. This grieves me deeply but I know there will new conversations, fresh words of wisdom, and opportunities to create close community once again. I’d love to hear from you in the comments section. I’ll be reading + replying on a regular basis.