As a mom, there's this ever-present feeling of running on empty—a cup that's impossible to fill. They say you can’t pour from an empty cup and you have to fill yours first. But a day that would fill my cup to the brim, includes a Pilates class, a massage, a cup of coffee without backwash, and hours of uninterrupted reading. But let’s be real—those moments are rare, let alone all happen in one day. 
Motherhood, especially in the thick of it, doesn’t afford much time for those little luxuries. My days start early and end late, barely enough time to write this down. It’s not my time to sleep through the night or be selfish. I’m constantly reminding myself that I’m going to have too much time to myself once the kids get older. But right now it’s my time to be a mom and give my all to my kids. But how can I give anything when my cup is empty?
Being a mom often feels like doing the impossible—pouring from an empty cup. In Dolly Partons memoir she tells a story about how her mom would choose a rock one of the kids picked out to make “rock soup” from barely enough vegetables to call it a soup. She would pick the rock from whichever kid needed a little extra attention that week. She was feeding a family on nothing and making a child feel special at the same time. Moms perform miracles daily, and sometimes, the only way to get through it is with a little divine intervention.
On those days when I feel like I can't muster the emotional, mental, or physical strength to get out of bed after just two hours of uninterrupted sleep, I turn to God. I ask Him to shoulder the heavy load of parenting, and He does. He fills my cup with the mental equivalent of a quad shot of espresso, taking on the grunt work and giving me the strength not just to survive but to be the mom my kids deserve. A mom who creates magic in their childhood without seeing of the struggles behind the mirror.
Motherhood is hard, but when your cup is filled—even if just a little—by something greater than yourself, you find the strength to not only carry on but to thrive. It’s not about having a perfectly filled cup but about finding the grace to keep pouring from it, no matter how empty it feels.