Are your days getting busier? Are you not able to give time to yourself? Are you getting frustrated with the amount of work you are getting loaded with?

Did you know there’s a reason why you, as a parent, are going through it? See what Exodus 1:13-14 says: ‘So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.’

And you know why? The answer is in the following verses – Pharaoh devising a plan to kill the children born to the Israelites. He ensured the parents were so busy making bricks and trying to survive that they didn’t have strength left by the end of the day to protect their children. The enemy was strategically planning something, and he still uses the same old trick. Before coming for the children, the attack comes on the parents. Because we are the covering over our children, the enemy, to get them out of the way, wants to first exhaust us.

Here are a few tips to ensure we don’t fall prey to his attacks:

1) Do not neglect prayers and your quiet time

Keep nourishing yourself in the presence of God. Make a timetable to be able to manage time well. If you are a working mother, find out ways to manage your kitchen well, create food planners, and stick it on your fridge. Set aside your quiet time with God – it could be when your toddler is asleep, or when your child is at school after you’ve returned home, or some time at work before you meet them. Hebrews 4:16 says, Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

2) Involve the Holy Spirit in your parenting

Ask Him questions about what your daily conversations with your child should be. We see the Bible tells us about visitations from Heaven where parents were given specific instructions on how to bring the child up. It’s beautiful, as you spend time in the prayer closet, you will get ideas and topics you need to talk to your kids about.

Deu 6: 6-7 says, Take to heart these words that I give you today. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you’re at home or away, when you lie down, or get up.

3) Spend FUN time with your child to destress yourself

Ensure to add some fun time with the child at least once a week. It could be going to the park with them and enjoying watching them roll in the grass, building sandcastles with them, playing board games, reading Bible stories, or even enacting Bible stories for them. 

4) Hold your tongue

Since children are the most vulnerable, parents tend to pour out their frustration in the form of words and actions over the child. Hold your frustration; don’t let it pour over your child. I am grateful to God for a wonderful earthly mother Shreya, who was ever so patient with us and always made LOVE evident in her corrections. Her advice to me as a mother is always – Tougher the day, greater the portion of grace and mercy for that day!!

John 1:16 says, “Out of his fullness, we have all received grace in a place of grace already given.”

Dear parent, remember during that evil time there was only one child in the land of Goshen who survived Pharaoh’s murderous plan because of a mother – only ONE who saw that her child was special, and she did everything she could to save him. 

Your child is special; he or she has a destiny; heaven has entrusted this child to you. Do not give up; fight for your child; it’s worth it!

-Ruta Miller