Is it ever okay to say you’ve had enough as a mom? Aren’t moms on 24-7, 365? Always able to handle everything all the time?
Maybe not.
You can say you’ve had enough because you’re human.
You don’t need to be able to do everything all the time.
You have limits.
There’s only so much time, so much energy, so much brain space. It’s okay to say you’ve had enough.
You weren’t meant to do everything.
We live in a world that really pressures us as moms to do everything. And that can even come from the church. How many have heard a sermon on the Proverbs, 31 Woman? And she did everything. So there’s that pressure. We need to do everything.
You go on social media, you go on Pinterest, it tells you to do everything and do it really, really well, but that’s not realistic. And that’s not how God made you. You are not meant to do everything.
Your task is to figure out what only you can do, what you are called to do, and then figure out how to delegate or eliminate or just get by on the rest.
Only you can be the mom to your kids. Only. You can represent God in the unique way that he put in you for you to show Him off to the world. But if you’re busy trying to do all the things, then those very key things that He gave you might be getting missed or might be getting neglected.
You aren’t meant to do it all. You do need to figure out what you are called to do. What only you can do so that you can decide what things to let go of and decide where you can say “I’ve had enough, I’m not doing all the things anymore”.
Whether it’s all of the things or all the activities for your kids, or having a house in a certain way, or having a certain number of possessions or dressing a certain way, all of those kinds of things, you don’t need to do it all.
What is God saying you are made for? And that He’s specifically asked you to do?
You can also say you’ve had enough as a mom because you’re not meant to do it alone.
Mothering is a big job. It’s a heavy job and not in a sense, you know, Jesus says my yoke is easy and my burden is light, but it’s weighty. It’s a big deal. God has entrusted the souls of precious children to you. It’s a big deal. It’s weighty. So it’s not heavy in the sense of it’s going to crush me, but it’s weighty. It’s important. It has significance to it. And it’s not a job you’re meant to do on your own.
Thankfully, we have Holy Spirit to guide us, to comfort us, and teach us all of the things we need to know. We also have people. We have family. We have friends. If you don’t have them – find them. You’re not meant to do it alone. It’s a weighty thing and you need encouragement. You need prayer support. You need ideas. When you haven’t had enough sleep and your brain just isn’t working. You need support. Give yourself that. It’s okay to say, “I’ve had enough. I can’t do all this.”
It’s actually a good thing because you want your kids to be able to do that. I would imagine. And our kids do what they see us do. They don’t do what we tell them. So it’s really important as a mom to do what we want them to do.
So if you need a break, you need some help, say so. There’s nothing wrong with that.
What I see so often with moms is they’re more than ready to help someone else. They say, “I’ll come and help you clean. I’ll take your kids. I’ll cook meals for you, help you organize.”
Moms are so generous and so kind and supportive of other moms. But I see so many moms that have such a hard time receiving that for themselves. So look at that. If you would readily give it to a friend, then why don’t you ask for it? If you would feel blessed and grateful to be able to do, you know, taking the kids, washing the laundry, helping with meals, whatever it is for another mom, maybe you’re robbing that blessing from another mom by not asking for help.
We need a place to be understood. And for our souls, our spirits to get fed. As sometimes as a mom, we just need somebody that understands the fatigue of figuring out what to make for dinner every night and having to change more diapers and the mundaneness of being a mom.
So it’s okay to say that you’ve had enough because you’re human. You have limitations. You’re not meant to do it all. And you’re not meant to do it all alone.
Where do you need to say you’ve had enough?
