We have been discussing quiet time with God in church and our small group lately. It has made me think quite a bit about what exactly that means to a mother of small children. I have been feeling particularly distanced from God lately, as I struggle just to survive the sleep deprivation of a newborn, the madness of life with a toddler, and the general lack of any measurable quiet time. I specifically pray for God to reach out to me and find me in the midst of all of this. It is amazing to me just how quickly and obviously God can answer our prayers!

He has shown me that quiet time as a parent of small children means sitting in the rocking chair with my infant, praying quietly while he sleeps.

It is talking with God while doing the dishes, or folding laundry, or cleaning up countless toys on the living room floor.

It can be reading the Berenstain Bears Storybook Bible and explaining to my young child what Jesus did for us.

It means singing and praying with my toddler while he falls asleep.

It means the hour that I walk every Tuesday morning while the kids are with the babysitter from our local MOPS group.

It means reading my own Bible in the soft light of the bedroom while I nurse the baby when I should be sleeping.

It might be the ten minutes in the shower with just the sound of running water to interrupt my thoughts.

It can be the moment when I look down on my sleeping children’s faces and imagine how God must feel when he looks down on us, his children.

It is then that I realize that I am not distanced from God at all. He is with me in every moment of my day- it is simply that the quiet moments are not where I used to find them, and I have to listen much harder to hear him- but he is there, whispering softly to me, beckoning me ever closer in the dim light while I kiss my babies goodnight….