Making time for yourself as a mom often feels like breaking some invisible rule. The laundry is endless. The toddler needs another snack. Someone always needs something. Rest feels indulgent—maybe even irresponsible. But what if the truth is the exact opposite?
What if making time for yourself as a mom isn’t selfish at all—it’s sacred?
Brooke Frick, author of Hands Full, knows the soul-level exhaustion of motherhood well. “My husband had been gone in Africa for 10 days, and I was home with five young children by myself. One of them had the stomach flu. I was completely worn thin by the time he got home. My patience was gone. I was too tired to even read my Bible.”
That’s not just tired. That’s empty. And that’s where many moms live.
The problem isn’t a lack of love—it’s a lack of margin. And the guilt? It piles on as fast as the dishes. But here’s the sacred truth: your need for rest doesn’t make you weak. It makes you human. And even more—your rest matters to God.
Just look at Elijah.
Brooke recalls that story from 1 Kings 19, where the prophet Elijah, fresh off a massive spiritual victory, runs into the wilderness and collapses under a broom tree. He’s done. Overwhelmed. Broken. “He prayed that he would die,” she says. “But in God’s great mercy and grace, instead, he fell asleep.”
Then comes the beautiful moment: an angel shows up—not with a rebuke, but with fresh-baked bread and water. Elijah eats, rests again, and eats a second time. The angel says, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”
“That’s when I realized—sometimes the journey really is too much,” she added. “And we need to sleep and eat, and sleep and eat again. And God knows it.”
You are not the exception to this truth. You are not meant to grind through motherhood until you snap. Even Jesus took time away from the crowds to rest, recharge, and connect with His Father. If the Savior of the world needed breaks, so do you.
Still not convinced? Think of it this way
You wouldn’t let your kids run themselves into the ground. You’d feed them, hug them, tuck them in. You’d care for their bodies and their hearts. So why do we believe that caring for our own is a luxury?
“Spending time with Jesus IS self-care. It is soul care. You need both,” Brooke says. “But sometimes we’re so depleted we can’t even get to the soul part. And that’s when we need to eat and sleep first.”
This is where sacred rest begins. Not in perfectly scripted quiet times or fancy spa days—but in giving yourself permission to pause. To breathe. To let the world spin while you sit still. To step away—not because you don’t care, but because you care enough to show up whole.
So go ahead. Take a nap. Drink the hot coffee. Walk alone for ten minutes without a podcast in your ear. Let the kids watch that show while you read your Bible uninterrupted—or close your eyes and do nothing at all.
Because making time for yourself as a mom is an act of faith. It says: I trust God to keep the world spinning while I rest. I trust Him to meet me in this moment, even if it’s messy.
The kind of strength that keeps going without stopping isn’t sustainable. But the kind of strength that recognizes its limits? That’s sacred.
And it’s the kind of strength you’ll find in the pages of Hands Full. Brooke wrote it for moms just like you—moms with cracker crumbs in their minivans and guilt in their guts. Moms who need a reminder that rest isn’t weakness—it’s worship.
Read the first chapter of Hands Full for FREE today and start making time for yourself in a way that honors God and heals your soul.
