Who Loves You But Is Tired

I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

YOU WORK SO HARD. You’re in charge of so many issues and details every single day.

I wonder if you’ve ever felt like that illustration of the mason jar. Have you seen it? The jar appears full with golf balls. It couldn’t hold one more; but then marbles are added. The jar seems full of balls and marbles until coffee grounds are poured in. It is surely full, except it can still hold water. Each addition makes us think that the jar is filled to capacity, but it’s not. Somehow more can still be added.

I don’t know about you, but this seems like a perfect picture of motherhood. Each extra task or duty feels as if it will be the one that means we cannot take on anything else, but somehow we make room for more. Our capacity expands, our hearts expand, but often our emotions feel stretched beyond what we can contain.

You know, I cry most easily when I am tired and overwhelmed. It’s as if my heart is out of room, and the tears just spill out. Do you ever need a minute alone without anyone around so you, too, can let out what you’ve been holding in? Sometimes when we are busy as mommas, we forget to cry out to the Lord instead of just cry.

The psalmist David was no stranger to tears or to being overwhelmed. He cried out to the Lord in exhaustion. He cried out to the Lord when he was afraid. He cried out to the Lord when he needed help. In Psalm 69:3, he said, “I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched” (ESV). He was in the Middle East, where the climate was often hot and dry, so even his environment impacted his tears. He loved the Lord, but he was tired.

Goodness, that is us, isn’t it? I’ve cried to the Lord, whether or not tears fell from my face, for all the same reasons David did. Momma, when all you can do is cry, the Lord knows exactly what you mean and how to meet your needs. He knows you love Him, but you’re tired. He knows you love your family, but you’re tired.

In moments like these, remember what David said of the Lord: “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book” (Psalm 56:8, NLT). The Lord can hold us and our tears. He never grows tired or weary. His jar never overflows.

Tonight we pray for the momma who loves You but is tired. Lord, she loves her family, but she is tired. She loves all the blessings that cause her to go, go, go without ever stopping, but Lord, she is so, so . . . so tired. Tonight we ask You to do something supernatural, something only You can do. Give her rest—not just for her body, but for her soul and her spirit. Give her rest that resets every depleted, exhausted, and overwhelmed area of her heart. Multiply the sleep she gets tonight. Restore her hope and her strength.

We ask in Jesus’s name, amen.

Lord, I cry out to You. I feel stretched beyond my capacity by . . .