We all know what exhaustion feels like. When we’ve reached our maximum capacity and are pushed beyond it. As parents we are forced to go beyond it all too often.
Parenting is ripe with exhaustion at all stages. Even though I don’t have adult children, I have been assured that the sleepless nights don’t end once a child grows up and leaves the home.
Think for a moment about children.
Babies can be sweet, cuddly, and precious; they can also be back-arching demanding cryers.
Children are inquisitive, kind, and helpful, while also being whiny, brattish, and throwing tantrums.
You may be asking, What’s the cure to this parental exhaustion?
I’m glad you asked.
NOTHING. Suck it up and tough it out!
Kidding.
I would like to point out that in life, there are seasons that come and go that are exhausting. There’s no specific pill I can give you that will thwart the entrance to the halls of exhaustion.
However, I will show you the source of strength. The Psalms often help my weary heart as an exhausted parent. David cries out to God in Psalm 28, and this reminds us to do the same. God uses the Psalms to help our hearts know how to talk to Him. To honestly cry out when you are at your wits’ end.
Psalm 22 verse 7 says,
“Yahweh is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped.”
Turn to God right now, be helped. I pray God’s word would be a balm for your exhaustion.
Usually after I cry out to God, He brings to mind just how much a gift my children are to Lacey and I.
Children are a great way God works on our hearts. We can be critical, foolish, and self-centered. God uses children to draw us to himself, simply because we are not capable of raising our children with what they need without God present in our lives.
Pray for the next generation. Pray for your future children, children, or grandchildren. Most importantly, pray for their hearts.
Christina Fox reminds us,
“While asking for healthy bodies and good behavior certainly makes my life easier, it doesn’t address my children’s most serious and deadly ailment: their heart"
The most important prayer I can pray for them is that they would see their sin and need for you.
(Read more of Christina’s prayer here- https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-most-important-prayer-for-our-kids)
Depend on our Father, who never gets exhausted. Commune with Him. He will satisfy you.
