What Makes My Kids Cry Today

I’ve spent the better part of the week doing invisible things.

I’ve wiped counters and bottoms and tears. I’ve packed lunches and cleaned out a minivan that looked like a snack explosion. I’ve answered questions I didn’t fully understand (“Can fish sneeze?”), refereed sibling spats, and prayed over fevers and fears.

And most of it? No one saw.

No one cheered when I managed not to yell.

No one gave me a gold star for getting dinner on the table even though I wanted to curl up and cry.

No one applauded when I folded six loads of laundry while whispering a prayer over each child’s shirt.

But here’s what I keep learning: God saw it all.

We live in a world obsessed with visibility—numbers, reach, likes, and applause. It’s easy to feel like if it wasn’t posted, it didn’t matter.

But God does His best work in the secret places.

He’s not measuring your motherhood in Instagram-worthy moments. He’s not interested in your hustle. He’s watching your heart.

He sees when you get up at 2 a.m. for the third night in a row.

He sees when you choose gentleness when everything inside you is fraying.

He sees when you whisper “Jesus, help” between the laundry and the lunchboxes.

And friend? He is not disappointed in you.

He’s not grading your performance. He’s present in your process.

The Sacred in the Small

Scripture tells us over and over that the God who moves mountains is also the God who counts hairs on our heads and collects our tears in a bottle.

He’s not too big for your small.

He’s not too busy for your mess.

He’s not too holy to meet you in the sock-covered hallway at 6:42 a.m. on a Wednesday.

In Matthew 6, Jesus talks about praying in secret—not for the show, not for the crowd, but because that’s where intimacy with God is formed.

You don’t have to be seen by the world to be seen by the One who matters most.

You Are Seen. You Are Known. You Are Loved.

So if today feels ordinary…

If your efforts feel unnoticed…

If you’re wondering if what you’re doing even counts…

Let me tell you what I’ve had to tell myself:

It does.

The work you’re doing is eternal.

The seeds you’re planting will grow.

The quiet faithfulness you offer in the shadows is radiant in the eyes of heaven.

You are not invisible.

You are seen.

You are celebrated.

You are held.

Not because you’re doing it perfectly—but because you are doing it faithfully.

And that? That’s enough.

A Prayer for You This Week:

Lord,

Thank You for seeing me in the places no one else does.

Thank You for being present in my mess, my mistakes, and my motherhood.

Help me remember that the unseen things I do in love are not wasted.

Let my everyday moments be an offering to You—

Even when I’m tired. Even when I’m hidden.

Especially then.

Amen.

With grace (and one more load of laundry),

Lizzie

Mom of Five, Faith-Filled Realist, and Proudly Hidden-in-Christ