A liturgy for: Going to Work
Seeking God First
Liturgies for the Little Years: In this series, you’ll find words for the everyday experiences of raising young kids in prayer form. My hope is that these liturgies would bring a sense of sacredness, meaning and worship to the ordinary moments of daily life as a parent.
Navigating Work as Moms
I’ll be honest - I wrote this liturgy almost a year ago, but I’ve held back from sharing it. I suspect it’s because the topic of work in motherhood is one I still feel like I haven’t “figured out”. I write and work on this ministry three mornings a week, and I don’t think a single one of those mornings goes by without me doubting if I should be leaving my kids. I can feel as if I’m caught in a cycle of pushing down guilt, rationalizing, then questioning myself all over again. All this to say, I suppose I’ve wanted to feel like I’m “doing it all right” before sharing any takeaway’s with others.
But here I am sharing this liturgy now because I’m wondering if it might help someone else just to know that another mom is also struggling with her work. I’m sharing also because I realized this liturgy never claimed to provide a formula for what work should like when you’re a mom. Rather, this small collection of words simply seeks to lead you to Wisdom himself.
Seeking Him First
Mom, if you are struggling with the topic of work in this season, my prayer is that you would be reminded that what you feel - the conflicting jumble of your desires and your guilt - it’s not too much for God. He is big enough to hold it all as you navigate your path. My prayer is also that you wouldn’t settle for an overly-simplistic conclusion, as I often find myself wanting to do. What’s best for our children is not simply more of our time on the one hand or the income we bring in on the other. What’s best for our children in regards to our work is nuanced, because every family and every mom is different.
And so, if I’ve gathered anything from reflecting on the topic of navigating work as a mom, it’s this: faithfully pursue the fullest expression of who God created you to be in him. If you’re navigating whether to work, where to work, or how much to work, you can pursue who God created you to be in him by processing with the Lord:
God, how have you uniquely wired and shaped me to reflect you to others?
Knowing your Word leads to fullness of life, what conviction or direction am I seeing in Scripture?
It’s not simply a stay-at-home mom or a working mom, but it’s a mom who’s walking with God that provides what’s best for her kids — It’s a mom attuned to God’s lead and guidance in her life. It’s as we align ourselves with who God created us to be in him that we more fully reflect God and share his blessings with our families.
Entrusting our kids to God
I know it’s a privilege to be able to choose whether to work or not as a mom, and I know there are many who don’t have a choice. But I’ve seen that even when work is a necessity, there still oftentimes seems to be a sense of guilt or anxiety in it for moms.
And so, in whatever place you might find yourself in regards to work in this season, I offer this liturgy as an invitation to look to God, and as you go to work, to entrust both yourself and your kids’ lives with him. All you can do is seek to follow his will within the life he gave you — He will take care of the rest.
A liturgy for: Going to Work
Infinite God, you are big enough to hold the vast span of my conflicting emotions: those pulling me toward my child, and those pulling me toward my work. While I navigate this difficult path with its many complexities, anchor me in this truth: What my child most needs is not simply more of my presence or more of my provision but a mother faithfully pursuing the fullest expression of who God created her to be in him. In what often feels like uncharted territory, keep my steps within the light of your Word and the comfort of your presence, and for the time I am away, keep my child in your sovereign care.
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