A hour equal to a moment
A moment equal to an hour.
You’re probably thinking, Sarah, that doesn’t add up… literally.
Stick with me here.
I was in spiritual direction a few months ago, sharing about the ups, downs, and inconsistencies that come with prayer in motherhood—especially in certain seasons.
I began talking about attending the Lux Conference in Colorado, hosted by @leah.darrow and @lisaanncotter in 2018, where I got to sit in on an intimate coffee shop Q+A with some of the FOCUS missionaries who brought us on the trip. Someone had asked what each of their prayer lives looked like as mothers.
I internally leaned in, since Mason and I were newly engaged at the time, and I deeply desired to be a mother, Lord willing, soon after marriage.
Leah said something along the lines of: some days, my prayer looks like a diaper change, a meal made, the floors swept, or dishes washed. That very act of love is a form of prayer. Tending to the little hearts of your children is prayer as you invite the Lord into those things. It’s sort of like this ongoing conversation with Jesus. Of course, when we’re able to spend quiet time in prayer alone, we ought to—but when the season of motherhood is busy with little ones running around, it looks different than the unmarried and childless college gal who can devote an hour to adoration like I once could.
I’ve carried that with me since that day and into my own motherhood: that a single moment I can give to the Lord, through the act of love in serving my family, can equal an hour. Because you and I cannot measure or weigh the grace of prayer, nor can we set it up on some numerical scale. I know I tend to without realizing it from time to time, but only Jesus has the capacity and capability to measure. That’s the freeing part, honestly: I can’t measure, and I don’t need to.
God lives and works outside of time as we understand it.
We’re limited and inconsistent—but Jesus is not. He sees that one small act of faith we offer up, even if it’s simply making sure my children are well-fed and know they are deeply loved by their parents and the Lord. Or washing the dish because of the little hands that will use it next. You name it, He can use it in ways beyond our understanding.
So a moment can “equal” an hour.
I appreciate this post because it is so hard to dedicate time just for Jesus. It helps knowing that our acts of love for our family, also count- even though we shouldn’t!