Mothering small children can be exhausting. It’s crazy and fun, but it can also be soul-destroyingly hard. Little people are often demanding, selfish, impatient and unable to control their emotions. Add to that mix tired, distracted parents and it’s a recipe for a trip to the GP all round.

I have spoken to a number of Mums this month who have all felt the same at some stage or another. Mums often say that they feel undervalued or overworked without pay”¦

I have spent hours of my life doing things I don’t want to do but I know I should do, or need to do, or to help those I love. It is the same for us all, I am sure. At the moment I have an almost three-year-old daughter whose mood swings are unpredictable, irrational and short lived. She can literally be in tears one second and then laugh out loud the next. It is hard work just keeping up. And almost better not to try.

In these days of sorting out the dynamics between my growing brood it is all too easy to feel down-hearted and discouraged. My husband manages a busy job and frantic home life, we do a great deal and have a get-up-and-go kind of family. There is very little time to take stock, stand still and appraise what is going on.

In Judges 4 and 5 we read about the amazing woman of God and prophet, Deborah. One of the verses in chapter 5 really sticks out for me and it is this:

“The River Kishon swept them away,”¨ the age-old river, the River Kishon.”¨ March on, my soul; be strong!”

I am fascinated by the meaning of Hebrew words and often find in them a further layer of meaning.
The word “Kishon” means to lay a bait, lure or trap. The Kishon River is now widely thought to be the most polluted in all Israel. This got me thinking.

What traps can we fall into about our lives. What kinds of thinking are polluting us and stopping us from really living as we should be? Deborah says, “March on, my soul, be strong!”

In tough days, times of trial, loneliness and heartache sometimes WE need to act as our own encouragers. As someone who spends the majority of my week day alone, I often say out loud and over myself, “Well done Ems! That was good.” It helps me to feel good about some small achievement that no-one else (except God) is aware of.

Deborah was not willing to be lured into the trap of “age-old thinking” and the polluted mindset of lack of faith. She encouraged herself and others to keep marching and to be strong.

I say that over myself today and over you.

March on my soul! Be strong! And don’t let anyone set a lure for your spirit to fall in to.