What Makes My Kids Cry Today

Real Life. Real Laughs. Real Jesus.

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  • 🖼️ “Why Am I Not in This Picture?” (and Other Time-Travel Tragedies)

    🖼️ “Why Am I Not in This Picture?” (and Other Time-Travel Tragedies)

    You don’t need a stage or a spotlight to do something that matters. In this short devotional, we’re reminding ourselves that the quiet, faithful, everyday things—raising kids, showing up at work, caring for others—are holy in God’s eyes. If you’ve been feeling unseen or unimportant, this is your reminder: you’re doing holy work. And heaven sees it.

    —

    📖 Scripture: Colossians 3:23–24

    🙌 Share this with someone who needs a little encouragement today.

    By Lizzie @ What Makes My Kid Cry Today

    Real Life. Real Laughs. Real Jesus.

    What made my kid cry today?

    He brought me an old family photo.

    One of those pre-kid, blurry-but-magical snapshots from years ago.

    We were smiling. The lighting was bad. My hair was questionable.

    But there we were—two young adults who had no idea what five kids and seven loads of laundry a day looked like.

    And he asked me:

    “Mom… why am I not in this picture?”

    I smiled and said gently,

    “You weren’t born yet, sweetheart.”

    Cue. The. Tears.

    😭😭😭😭😭

    The injustice.

    The heartbreak.

    The betrayal of not existing yet.

    He wailed like he’d been personally excluded from a party he was too young to attend and too unborn to be invited to.

    No explanation could soften the blow.

    No hug could undo the emotional devastation of pre-birth omission.

    Apparently, I should have known better than to take pictures before he existed. 🙃

    💛 Real Talk

    It’s funny now (and honestly, it was a little funny in the moment too).

    But as I wiped his tears and tried to explain that he’s in thousands of photos now,

    I couldn’t help but feel the sting of the deeper fear behind his reaction:

    “Was I wanted?”

    “Did I matter before I showed up?”

    “Am I really part of this story?”

    ✨ Faith Tie-In

    And it hit me—

    I’ve asked God the same questions.

    When things feel hard…

    When I feel left out or forgotten…

    When I see others thriving and wonder why I wasn’t invited into that season of joy…

    I’ve looked up and cried,

    “Why am I not in this picture?”

    And His answer is simple, kind, and so full of love:

    “You’re in the story. I’ve had you in mind all along.”

    “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…” – Jeremiah 1:5

    You may not be in every picture,

    but you are in every plan God’s ever had for your life.

    👩‍👦‍👦 Motherhood Moment:

    After my son calmed down, I showed him all the pictures of him.

    First bath. First steps. First meltdown over toast being “too brown.”

    And I reminded him:

    You weren’t in that picture.

    Because that picture led to you.

    💬 Comment Prompt:

    Has your child ever cried over something deep and ridiculous at the same time?

    Tell me your “pre-birth betrayal” story—I promise I’ll laugh and cry with you 💛

  • 🚗 Devotional: Peace in the Pickup Line

    🚗 Devotional: Peace in the Pickup Line

    By Lizzie @ What Makes My Kid Cry Today

    Real Life. Real Laughs. Real Jesus.

    Maybe this week left you tired.

    Not just “I need a nap” tired—soul-tired.

    The kind of tired that coffee can’t fix and sleep doesn’t solve.

    Maybe you feel invisible—like the woman behind the meals, the messes, the meltdown management.

    You’ve wiped tears, picked up Cheerios, repeated yourself 47 times, and somehow still feel like you didn’t do enough.

    But today, I want you to know:

    God still sees you.

    👀 The God Who Sees

    There’s a beautiful name for God in Scripture:

    El Roi — “The God who sees me.”

    (Hagar called Him that in Genesis 16:13, when she felt alone, used, and forgotten.)

    And if He saw her—

    A woman in the wilderness, hurt and hidden—

    Then He sees you, too.

    🫶 He Sees…

    The way you got up before the sun. The tears you cried in the shower because you didn’t want the kids to see. The 43 times you bent low to serve little hearts that didn’t say thank you. The way you whispered “Jesus, help” over a basket of laundry and a child’s meltdown.

    None of it goes unnoticed.

    📖 Encouraging Scripture

    “You are the God who sees me… I have now seen the One who sees me.”

    — Genesis 16:13

    “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their cry.”

    — Psalm 34:15

    “Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

    — Luke 12:7

    🙏 A Simple Sunday Prayer

    Lord,

    Sometimes I feel invisible, like all I do disappears into the noise.

    But You see me.

    You see every diaper changed, every dish washed, every act of unseen love.

    Remind me that I’m not just surviving motherhood—I’m serving You in it.

    And that is enough.

    Amen.

    💬 Final Word for Your Sunday

    You are seen.

    You are known.

    You are held.

    Not because you had a perfect week.

    Not because you kept it together.

    But because you belong to a God who never looks away.

    So breathe deep today.

    Sip your coffee slowly.

    Let the grace of a God who sees you soak into your soul.

    You’re doing holy work, Mama.

    Even when no one else notices—He does.

  • Jesus in the School Drop-Off Line

    Jesus in the School Drop-Off Line

    Subtitle: Finding Sacred Stillness in the Middle of the Chaos

    It always starts the same.

    One sock is missing. Someone doesn’t like their breakfast. The toddler needs a last-minute diaper change. You’re five minutes behind, and the school line waits for no one.

    You pull into the drop-off lane—heart racing, coffee half-drunk, your mind already racing through the day’s to-do list—and for a second, you wonder:

    “Is this what motherhood is supposed to feel like?”

    Chaotic. Loud. Tense.

    But then—just as the car door swings open and little feet hop out—

    you whisper a name:

    “Jesus, be here.”

    🛑 The Car Line Is a Sanctuary

    It doesn’t look like church.

    It doesn’t feel like a retreat.

    But there in the school drop-off line, you are parenting on holy ground.

    The car becomes your chapel.

    The breath you take is your offering.

    The prayer you whisper is enough.

    Jesus is not waiting for your schedule to slow down.

    He’s not disappointed in your distracted prayers.

    He’s riding shotgun—present, patient, unbothered by the mess.

    🚸 He Sees the Holy in the Hustle

    He sees the way you hold it all together when you’re unraveling on the inside.

    He sees your guilt for rushing the goodbye hug.

    He sees the tenderness behind the “Have a good day!” even when you feel worn out.

    Jesus isn’t just in the quiet moments before the house wakes up.

    He’s in the honking, the backpacks, the spilled cereal, the traffic, the tension.

    “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” — Genesis 28:16

    You don’t need a perfect moment to meet with God.

    You just need a heart that turns—even briefly—toward Him.

    🌤 A Simple Prayer for the Drop-Off Line

    “Jesus, go with them today.

    Walk with them into the classroom.

    Be the calm I couldn’t give them.

    And be with me too—here in this car,

    In this moment, in this breath.”

    Amen.

    💛 Mama, you’re not alone.

    You are seen.

    You are doing the best you can.

    And Jesus is already ahead of you—waiting at the school doors,

    holding space in the drop-off line,

    and whispering back, “I’m here.”