A Reflection on Motherhood, Priority, and Presence

Motherhood is foundational. It carries everything yet because it is constant, it is often treated as assumed and becomes invisible. That creates a subtle expectation spoken or unspoken that we must also excel elsewhere to be considered enough.

As a mother, I’m very present with my children. I’m attuned and I’m aware. I see them and I value the responsibility I’ve been entrusted with and because I’m present, I’ve also become very observant.

What I’ve noticed in recent conversations , in shared and personal experiences and in quiet moments with other mothers is a common tension many of us carry. We know what matters most. We know our children matter. We know our health matters. We know our wholeness matters. Yet many mothers live with an underlying pressure to justify their worth beyond the role they already hold. That pressure often shows up in places where contribution is easier to measure.

Work.

Entrepreneurial goals.

Talents.

Skills.

Calling.

None of these things are wrong in fact they are God-given. However, I’ve observed how easily they can begin to compete with what was meant to remain central and not because mothers don’t value their families but because we are often navigating multiple responsibilities at once. Sometimes clarity comes not by adding more but by removing what fills every space. Like a cluttered home, when life is full, it’s hard to see what truly matters but when we clear space we begin to recognize the value of what remains. You see that what remains are the gifts God has already entrusted to us.

Scripture tells us:

“Children are a heritage from the Lord.”

— Psalm 127:3

A heritage isn’t something we fit in when time allows. It’s something we guard with intention.

I’ve also noticed how often mothers (including myself) will delay care for themselves and not out of neglect but out of responsibility. Appointments get moved, rest gets postponed and attention to the body gets deferred because something else feels more urgent in the moment.

It’s in these quiet unseen choices that the weight many mothers carry becomes most evident.

So to the mothers who may quietly wonder if they are being overlooked or undervalued, know that you are not being ignored. Your role is one of the hardest and highest priorities on any list, even when it is not openly acknowledged, when resources feel limited, support feels scares, or your family does not look the way you once envisioned. As hard as it may appear and as much easier said than done, what I’ve come to see in my own life, having walked through many of the very same things I’ve written about is this: God sees me, He loves me, and He is carrying me.

This reflection is written from my own experience where God is teaching me to wait, listen and surrender. In this season God has been gently restoring wholeness. For years I moved quickly, acted impulsively and pursued what was next without asking first. I do believe when God says it is time to pick things up again, I will do so with clarity able to see what was meant for a season and what (within the skills and talents) He has given me is meant to move forward.

Surrendering has been what opened my eyes to motherhood in a different light. Not as something I have to prove or perform but as something deeply beautiful and sacred. In surrender, the weight to “do more right now” has lifted along with the quiet belief that my worth is attached to constant achievement. I’ve learned that my value was never dependent on what I produce but who I am in Him and the faithfulness with which I love and lead my home.

Your first ministry is your home. The care you give, the presence you offer, the emotional and spiritual labor you carry matters deeply and while you may be doing or not doing other things that often bring validation, recognition, or reassurance, your worth is not diminished by their absence.

True validation is not found in visibility or achievement. It is found in faithfulness. It is found in the daily unseen ways you nurture, guide, protect, and love. It is affirmed by God Himself, who sees every moment, every sacrifice, and every act of obedience.