Motherhood, Sacrifice, and Not Rushing Past Answered Prayers

This summer, I poured myself out for my girls, camps, swimming lessons, playdates, even a sleepover. I was happy to do it. I felt like a cup filled with joy, knowing I had made it all happen for them.

But then one afternoon, less than 10 minutes after a playdate at the park, my daughter walked into the kitchen while I was finalizing a big business order and asked:
“Mummy, when are we going school shopping?”

I froze.

Despite all I had poured out, it felt like her cup wasn’t full. Had she forgotten so soon? The playdates, the mall trips, the sleepovers- all the sacrifices?

I almost shouted:
“Did we not just get back from the park? Can’t you see all I’m doing right now? Did you even think, oh wow, Mum did all this, let me give her a break?”

She apologized, but she didn’t really understand.

Later that evening, I prayed in the quiet of a room I had once earnestly asked God for. As I thought about what was still undone, God whispered:
“You are sitting in an answered prayer.”

And it hit me.

“We linger in sadness, but too often we rush past joy.”

That reminder changed my posture.

As mothers and women, we will always pour ourselves out. But the fullness of our lives isn’t measured by how quickly someone else’s cup fills, it’s in recognizing that God has already been faithful, right where we are.