A Mama’s Empty Cup

I’ve heard it said one thousand times.

“You cannot pour from an empty cup.”

It is a phrase that carries wisdom and encourages us to find rest when needed. It is biblical, as God established a day of rest from the beginning. And I’ve tried to live my life with balance and by recognizing when I needed to breathe.

But all that changed when I became a mama. I’m at the very beginning of my motherhood journey and do not pretend to be any sort of expert but I have learned mamas don’t usually get breaks. I don’t say that to sound like a martyr. Being a mom has been the best thing and also hardest thing I’ve ever done.

It’s like your heart exists outside of your body. You feel every cry, every fall, every fear. You simultaneously love watching them learn and change while wishing they wouldn’t grow up. You wipe noses and bottoms. You kiss foreheads and scraped knees. You make sure they are fed while you snack on goldfish. You give good morning hugs and goodnight kisses everyday.

And you do it when you are tired, when you’re sick. You keep going when you’re hurting or struggling with your own things. You try to balance your kids, your spouse, your job, your home, your friends.

And sometimes you look down at the cup you are about to pour out of and it looks bone dry. You realize used the last few drops on the toddler tantrum this morning and you still need to keep pouring.

I’ve felt like this and I’m sure you have too. Staring at your children, the precious gifts that God has given you, it’s easy to wonder how you could possibly be enough. But I’m reminded of a mother is the Bible who felt the same way.

We read in 2 Kings 4 of a woman at her wits end. Her husband had died and she was left with nothing but her two sons, a jar of oil, and her husband’s debts. Her sons were going to be taken into slavery if she could not pay those debts, but when she looked around, she had nothing to give.

But Elisha, the man of God, tells her to collect as many jars as she can from her neighbors and to go home and to begin to fill those jars with the oil from the single jar she had. And so she did. And as she grabbed jar after jar, somehow she managed to have enough for the next and the next and the next, until there were no more jars to fill. She paid her debts and had enough to care for her children thanks to the miraculous provision from the God she served.

As a mama, there have been many days when I have looked at myself and said, “Lord, I don’t have what I need for this day, and what I do have is not going to be enough.” This week in particular, I have wondered how I can be enough for both my newborn and my toddler.

Some days I look at my own “jar of oil” and think there’s not even enough in their to fill one of my daughter’s jars. But one of my favorite things about serving the Lord is that He takes my empty cup and somehow when I tip it over, it manages to fill the precious hearts He has entrusted to me.

He takes my scraps and weakness on my hardest days and fills my cups so that I can fill theirs.

You are not alone, mama. He chose you to care for the little souls throwing spaghettios onto the floor, giving the sweetest snuggles, and making your home brighter and better. And He knows when you feel like you have nothing left to give them. He’s ready and waiting to fill your empty cup and give you the strength you need to raise them.

Keep pouring, mama. He will provide what you and those little ones need.