God, I’m Tired: Honest Rest for Exhausted ParentsSample

You’re Allowed to Be Held Too

You’ve spent so much time holding everyone else together. Wiping tears. Packing lunches. Picking up messes no one thanks you for. Whispering prayers in dark rooms.
But somewhere in the middle of loving them so well, you forgot this: You’re someone’s child too.

You are His child first.
The same way you scoop up your baby when they fall apart? That’s how God holds you.
The same way you stand guard over your kids in the dark? That’s how He stands guard over you.

But here’s the catch, you have to let Him.
Most parents don’t know how to let themselves be held. We think, “I don’t have time to break. I don’t have permission to rest. Who will hold it together if I don’t?”
But He never asked you to be the Savior. He asked you to trust Him to be yours.

Isaiah says He gathers His lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. That’s you not just your child, but you.
You can’t give what you refuse to receive. You can’t pour strength if you never let Him strengthen you first.

So tonight put down the dishes. Let the laundry wait. Breathe out the guilt. Crawl up into the arms of your Father, the One who still calls you His child when you’re exhausted and undone.
You’re allowed to be held too.

Reflection

What would it look like for you to stop doing for five minutes and let God hold you? Where are you trying to be strong when you just need to rest in His arms?

Prayer

Father, remind me that I’m Yours too, not just a parent but a child who gets to be carried. Hold me close. Teach me to rest in Your arms so I can love my family from overflow, not empty striving. I trust You with my tired heart. Amen.