How To Never Give UP As a Parent
When my husband and I started talking about having a family, we never expected that twins would be a part of that equation.
 
But after having five kids and also walking through some painful losses, God answered my prayer for another child – just not in the way that we expected.
 
Twins were never a part of the plan.
 
Along with our twins came double the blessings and double the struggles. Some days it’s more than I can handle in my own strength – especially with my husband’s travel, busy schedules, work, extracurriculars and so much more. So how do we keep from giving up when I often want to just throw my hands up in the air?
 

His grace is sufficient

As a wife and a parent I’ve seen that often, God will do things we never would have expected or imagined. And sometimes those things might feel like too much for us. We’re not sure if we can actually handle them.
 
But God will ALWAYS give us manna for the day.
 
It’s just like the Israelites in the wilderness in the Old Testament. They often didn’t know where their next meal was coming from, but God met them and gave them the daily manna they needed to keep going.
 
And because I believe God’s promises in Scripture are true- I know that He can do the same thing for you and me.
 
The key to the manna? Asking for it. Getting in the Word of God. Finding your strength in His promises and getting down on your knees in prayer consistently to ask for what we need from Him.
 

A mom, not a superhero

Are you feeling stretched in your season of motherhood? Like the to-do lists are too much, and there isn’t enough time or money or resources?
 
It’s okay to feel like you can’t hold it all together. You’re a mom, not a superhero. You will get weary because you’re human and you can only do so much in your own strength.
 
If you’re a parent who is worn out, if you’re feeling anxious, frustrated, or overwhelmed, I want you to be encouraged today and know that you’re not alone.
 
I know now from experience that God will give you what you need. You just have to ask. Making prayer a consistent part of your parenting journey is a great place to start.
 

Our kids are watching

Last but not least, I want to mention this. How you walk through difficult times, how you respond to your kids or spouse in stress and in crisis is so important, because our kids are watching us.
Our kids will pick up on how we act.
 
Patience is a fruit of the spirit. Kindness, love, gentleness.. all the fruits of the spirit comes naturally when it’s easy and people are agreeable. But we will really see fruit in our lives when we are tested or when we’re enduring and STILL applying the fruits of the spirit.
 
When your kids see you live like this, you are setting an example.
 
By no means are my husband and I perfect parents. We’ve made some big parenting and marriage mistakes along the way. But we’re always learning and resubmitting ourselves to God.
In our family right now, we’re starting to reap a little bit of a harvest. It keeps me motivated to stay on my knees and keep praying.
 
The truth is no matter how many kids you have, parenting is a hard job.
But God sees you in every difficult moment. He knows the times when you feel completely overwhelmed. He sees your tears and understands the feelings you don’t quite know how to explain.
 
The hope in any trial or experience, whether good or bad, is to be able to see where we are right now, look back and see where God has been faithful.
 
And we can remain calm and trust that if we stay faithful and diligent, even on the hard days, God will fill in the gaps where we cannot. And you WILL see fruit if you don’t give up.
 
[verse reference=”Galatians 6:9″]“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” – [/verse]
 
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This article is adapted from our podcast episode “How To Never Give Up As A Parent” on 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬. You can listen to the full episode right here.