As a mama to six (barely) under ten, I get weary. Like, fall asleep in the middle of praying at bedtime weary. It’s not that my life is so very hard. It isn’t. I don’t wash our clothes by hand or fetch our water from the river several miles away (both of which my Ugandan friends have to do). I cook dinner most nights, but if I ever don’t feel up for it, I only have to drive a few miles and pick up something already made for me.

My children are sweet and helpful. I genuinely like as well as love them.

But the list of daily tasks is literally never-ending. I never ever get every last thing checked off.

I know yours is too.

It’s the nature of this earthly, toil-filled life. Even if we don’t have to grow every morsel of food we consume, we do have to grocery-shop. Which takes time. So does potty-training and vacuuming and laundry sorting and soccer practice and homeschooling and having meaningful conversations with your teen.

Which is why I feel like I need to tattoo Galatians 6:9 backwards on my forehead so that every time I look in the mirror and notice the dark circles under my eyes and new lines between my brows, I’ll also see these words:

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This is seriously my mantra, y’all. “Do not grow weary of doing good.”

Why?

Because, at the proper time, I will reap a harvest IF I DO NOT GIVE UP.

(I don’t know about you, but if all it said was: “Do not grow weary of doing good…just because,” I don’t think I’d be nearly as into it)

This is what I clung to when Ezra constipated himself (which transformed his sunny disposition into that of a crotchety 85-year-old with hemorrhoids) to avoid potty-training for an entire year. And then when he spent years 5-7 melting down over, well, most things. It was my saving grace throughout weeks of waking up 5 times a night to feed twins. And then again when those same twins decided to make car rides moderately torturous experiences for the last year (although, we seem to be mostly out of the woods). It’s my lifeline every time I’m 39 weeks pregnant and fully aware that I probably still have 3 weeks to go.

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Do Not Grow Weary

And you know what? It is absolute, God-given truth. I have yet to be disappointed with the harvest of persevering in “doing good” with these short-term “trials.”

Ezra eventually potty-trained…and stopped being so dramatic (he’s a lovely, level-headed, considerate, kind almost-10-year-old now, who folds laundry cheerfully instead of prostrating himself on the ground with weeping and gnashing of teeth. Hallelujah!). The twins eventually slept through the night and haven’t had a full on tandem car tantrum in several months. And somewhere between 41 and 42 weeks, I finally get a baby to snuggle.

I could give you other examples, but suffice it to say that the harvest has been all the sweeter for the struggle (however mild) that preceded it.

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I’m so grateful for these little rewards since there are plenty of other things the Lord and I are still plugging away at, which have yet to reveal their harvest.

And praise God that the whole “do not grow weary” part has pretty much nothing to do with feelings. Will I feel weary? Yes. Exhausted? Yup. Despondent? Sometimes.

But if I do not give up, regardless of how I feel, I will receive a harvest at the proper time–even if it’s not the one that I think I should get or in the time frame I was hoping for.

I hope this encourages you as much as it does me.

It’s hardly a magic formula or a carte blanche of “happiness” (because, again, notice it says nothing about how you will feel during this process of perseverance). But it is a promise. And, as Psalm 145:13 says: “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.”

Lindsay and I have been wanting to create a print with this verse on it for ages, but…see above about having trouble checking everything off the list.

We’re so glad we managed to get it knocked out before Mother’s Day, though.

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Maybe you or a mama you know need this encouragement in your lives?

We just released it today, and now through Sunday, you’ll receive a FREE 5X7  of your choice with the purchase of our “Do Not Grow Weary” print in an 8X10 or larger.

(Just be sure to specify which 5X7 you want in the notes at checkout)

Has this verse proved true in your life too? I’d love to hear about the harvests you’ve seen so far…

5 Comments

  1. I have a seven-year-old “Ezra” in my house! He’s super sweet and tender and sensitive, but also sensitive to every mistake his perfectionist self does on his homework, or to getting his sleeves wet while washing his hands, or to really anything that could go wrong.

    Any parenting suggestions you can give me from your experience?

  2. After the day my sister had yesterday, this is exactly what she needs! I am going to order one for her, but also want one for myself because I need this reminder as well. Do you get a 5×7 with each ordered or just one per person?

  3. You my dear are an inspiration. I have been reading your blog for almost 2 years now and love all of it. For reasons only known to God, your Devtional message is always timely. We recently sold our home( empty nest!) and I’ve been packing up 23 years of memories. Tough first world problem I know. I ordered the newest print for my lovely daughter in law, who was baptized late last year and found out in her testimony this is her life verse. Thank you Abbie! (Also my daughters name spelled the same! Her middle name is Leigh. Yours?)

  4. thank you I could not wait to get my order in.. It is good for us seasoned readers too. believe me jst because our children are not living with us we do not discontinue the care and prayer.My daughter s going through a third different cancer treatment with her hsb. one of them is incurable and just doing a maintenance program is their best treatment. 9 weeks of 5 days each week, another one resulted in a large divot in his thigh after the removal of a large ca tumor. in the midst of this he had to have bilat. hip replacements. then she has recently suffered rib fractures from a fall in the bathroom. yes, this will make a nice thought for her. I am humbled by the grace with which she handles this while working full time at a challenging career. she knows their Savior is who is getting them through all of this.

  5. Gah. So needed this today. Kiddo #1 had three nights of super high fevers = middle of the night bathtub parties to prevent more febrile seizures. Kiddo #2 has the same bug, but no fever and croupy….which made us spend 11 days in PICU while on vacation in February. In utero #3 makes the sleepless nights so much harder. I was losing it yesterday. This. was. good.

I love hearing from you guys!