O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. (Psalm 131:1-2)
“Quiet Time” Has Changed
Picture this: A steaming cup of coffee or tea. Morning birdsong outside the window. Your Bible lays open across your lap, and a journal with highlighters and pens are ready nearby. An hour or more of uninterrupted peace allows you to pore over God’s Word and soak up what He has to say to you this day. You read, pray, and work on your memory verses.
Perhaps that sounds delightfully spot-on or like a distant memory, or maybe for you such a thing has never happened. It is the idyllic way I have always imagined my quiet time ought to be. In high school and college, I was convinced this was the best way to meet with the Lord, or at least to be able to count it and check that off my list for the day. After all, isn’t that the point? To be able to say that we did it, that we faithfully practiced that spiritual discipline for the day? Now we can move on, and God will bless the day ahead.
I would argue that if that has become the goal, we are on the wrong field altogether. As a busy mom, I can get caught up in comparing my life to other women’s or even my own as it used to be. But our Father knows what season we are in right now, He has placed us here. And when He calls us, He is calling us to Himself, to be in relationship with Him. What that looks like today is necessarily going to be different than it was 10 or 20 years ago. I am a busy, homeschooling mom of three now.
Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28–30). He also said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
But how do we abide in Him now, when our husband and/or our children and our home require so much? The baby was up at all hours, the toddler wet the bed, or the nine-year-old had a nightmare and ended up in our bed. Maybe the 15-year-old had only begun sharing her heart and asking all the deep questions at 11:00 pm. After this, we might not manage an early morning quiet time. Whether we open our Bible first thing or it happens later, He beckons us to come to Him for strength and comfort to carry us throughout the day.
Soul Food
Just as we mothers seek to provide nourishing food for our families, God knows that we need Him to sustain our lives. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). He is the Word and the Bread of Life. When we feast on the Word by coming to scripture and quieting our souls, we are feasting on Him, filling up our hearts and minds with the truth of who He is.
It might not be audibly quiet (although that is certainly helpful), but time set aside to spend with the Lord must always be a quieting of our souls (see Ps. 23 and 131). It is a humble recognition of who we are in relation to God and nestling into the comfort of our Father’s arms. So, whether there is a warm drink present, or if we are even able to sit down, our souls can enter His presence and rest. This is not something that we must do to be a good Christian, and we are certainly not trying to attain God’s favor by it. Rather we have permission and are invited by Him to step outside of the crazy pace of life as well as sensory and information overload, to stop and be still with Him. While this is an act of obedience, it is a wonderful gift to a busy mom. Yes, you are allowed to take it. Also, just to be clear, I’m still learning and need to take my own advice here.
Silence and Solitude as Sustaining Faith
Taking time to be still and quiet is also an act of faith, as we are trusting God to provide for us while we do nothing but trust Him. Remember that Jesus took time regularly to go off by Himself to pray to His Father. Following Jesus’ example, I believe that it is imperative that we continue to carve out time in our days to be with God in silence and solitude. Because of the age we live in, it is possible for every space to be filled with noise or communication with others.
As mothers, we hold and protect a sacred quiet, because now, we aren’t only following the Lord for our own hearts’ sake, but also for our children’s. They are watching and learning from us. They are seeing what we value by seeing what we spend our time doing. Let them see us prioritizing time with our Heavenly Father every single day. Let them watch and learn how to abide in Christ.
Three Meals A Day
Actual quiet time is a rare gem in the Chao household (in plural, our name literally spells CHAOS). But let me encourage you as I encourage myself, that we can work towards habits of communing with the Father—even on the days when our surroundings aren’t at all quiet. Let us keep things simple. Most of us eat three meals a day. Why not make it a practice to not only pray before meals but also spend time afterward reading or singing God’s Word? Feast on spiritual food while your body digests its physical food. This can be done wherever you are, whether together with your kids, or individually at work or school. Also, if you decide to follow a Bible reading plan, treat this as a meal also. Those who created the Bible Reading Challenge (biblereading.christkirk.com) have pointed out that if you fall off the bandwagon and miss a day (or several) it’s quite alright to pick back up wherever that day’s assigned reading places you. You are coming to a table to feast with Christian brothers and sisters around the world. If you arrive at suppertime, don’t feel as though you must go eat breakfast and lunch before you can enjoy the meal set before you. What a relief!
Praise God, Read the Bible
Finally, let me encourage you to make time regularly to worship God as a family. Ideally, if Dad is home, invite him to read aloud a passage of Scripture or you can do this yourself. Our family has not been perfect at any of this, and we are just getting into a consistent rhythm with nightly family worship. In the most beautiful way, God reminds us through our little four-year-old daughter, who shouts, “Daddy! Praise God, read the Bible” each night after she gets dressed for bed. After reading a passage and a bit from our family devotional, we sing the Doxology together. What better way to end a day that was likely chaotic, than to remind ourselves of who we are in relation to God and praise Him for his many blessings?
– Morgan Chao lives in Anderson, SC, with her husband, Matt, and their three children. She grew up serving in Christian ministry alongside her parents and currently works with a non-profit ministry, CHOSN Warriors Inc., as well as in discipleship and children’s ministry at Renewal Church of Anderson.
