To The Mother Who Wonders If She is Enough...

I would venture that behind every smiling Mother’s Day photo is a woman who has wondered at some point if she is doing enough.

I know I have.

I love being a mom. Snuggling with my kids, playing with them, laughing with them, and teaching them brings me so much joy and fulfillment.

But there are days when I am doing my best, and feel like I am coming up short. No matter how hard I try, the kids won't stop whining, throwing tantrums, or disobeying. The house is a mess. The laundry is mountain-high. My hair looks like I went through a hurricane.

There have been moments when I wondered if I am really the best person for the job of mothering my children. Maybe someone else could do a better job.

Can anyone relate?

Recently, my daughter has been addicted to the songs from the Young David movie. We play them multiple times per day. But somewhere between the first and fiftieth replay, something unexpected caught my attention: the film’s portrayal of David’s mother and the influence she had on him.

One scene especially stayed with me.

David is discouraged and uncertain about his place in the kingdom. Sensing his fear, his mother sits beside him and gently speaks truth and courage into him.

In the film, she is portrayed as a weaver, crafting tapestries from the wool of their family’s sheep. And through that weaving, she gives David a powerful picture of who he is and what God may be doing in his life.

It reminded me how deeply a mother’s voice can shape the heart of her child. It reminded my of times my own mother has done that for me.

Take a moment and watch the scene here:

While this particular scene is not recorded in Scripture, we know David’s mother must have played an important role in shaping his faith and perspective. And because David’s family were shepherds, the imagery of weaving from wool may not be far from reality.

I was struck by how God used her specific talents to impact her child.

As we celebrate Mother's Day, we honor a mom's quiet faithfulness that often shapes lives in ways history never fully records.

God has given each of us specific strengths as mothers, to use in the role he has called us to with our specific children. The end picture may still feel uncertain to us. But one thing is certain: the gifts that you bring to your family can be used to leave lasting legacies that you can't see yet. Even on the hard days.

In my upcoming book, Mothering on Empty, one devotional explores this very idea: the days when we feel like we are failing as mothers. The moments when we wonder whether what we are offering is enough.

God can do far more with the gifts we bring him, than we think we can. In John 6 we read the story of a young boy gave Jesus five small loaves of bread and two fish. He did not make excuses for his gift, or for not having enough to feed the large crowd. He simply gave what he had to Jesus, and waited to see what He would do.

Jesus took that gift and fed 5,000 people.

Bring your motherhood skills to Jesus—your encouragement, your creativity, your meals, your late-night conversations, your imaginative play, your comforting hugs, your “weaving.” Offer Him what you have and and see what He will do with them.

Ephesians 3:20 "Now to Him who can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His great power that is at work within us."

You don't have to have enough. You don't have to nail it every day. Because Jesus, does.

May every mother reading this be reminded today that God sees the work no one else notices, treasures the sacrifices made in love, and multiplies every offering surrendered to Him.