When my oldest was two, I set up a playdate with a new friend and her daughter. As we pushed our girls on the swings, she asked:
“Where does your little girl go to school?”
My daughter was two.
Living in an affluent area, my husband and I had noticed that many children started private school by age two. Still, we felt four year-old preschool or kindergarten was a perfectly appropriate time to begin formal education. After all, she was just two.
“Oh,” my friend replied. “Well, I hope you’re on the waiting lists. And are you homeschooling in the meantime?”
I was completely flustered.
By the end of the conversation, I was convinced we had already failed as parents. At that point, my daughter’s most “educational” moments involved watching Little Einsteins—a video with floating shapes and bright squiggles included.
College? Clearly out of reach.
It was over.
And she was only two.
I rushed home, called my husband, and informed him that our girl needed to start private school . . . immediately.
Worldly Voices in Parenting
If we’re honest, most mothers carry a low hum of guilt throughout their day.
We feel it when we wonder if we’re giving our children the best education. We feel it when we work too much—or not enough. We feel it when our child isn’t on the right team, hasn’t started music lessons early enough, or melts down in public.
There were times when my teen’s dinner consisted of buttered white bread, peanuts (“protein”), and veggie chips (“vegetables”). The guilt found me there, too.
We are constantly bombarded with advice on how to raise our kids—an endless stream of opinions, strategies, and expectations. It’s no wonder we feel unsure if we’re doing anything “right.”
Social media only amplifies the noise. It offers polished, one-dimensional glimpses into other families’ lives, and we consume them like empty calories. When we put the phone down, we’re often left feeling inadequate because, well, our homes don’t look like that. Our kids don’t behave like that. We don’t look like that good.
And the message we hear, loud and clear, is this: You’re not doing enough.
The Voice That Matters Most
But there is a voice that speaks louder than all the others—if we will listen.
The voice of the Lord is not anxious, demanding, or condemning. It is steady, powerful, and full of grace. Throughout Scripture, God speaks with clarity and authority, yet his words are often drowned out by the urgency of the world around us.
In Psalm 29:3–4, David declares:
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The same voice that rules over the waters speaks into the everyday decisions of motherhood.
No parenting philosophy, no expert opinion, no trending method carries the weight or wisdom of God’s Word. His voice has authority over every fear, every question, and every uncertain decision.
When you feel pulled in a dozen directions, wondering what is best for your child, listen first to Jesus. He gives wisdom generously (James 1:5), and his guidance is not confusing or contradictory.
This doesn’t mean you won’t make mistakes. You will. We all do—daily.
But the God who commands the sun to rise is also the One who quiets your anxious heart, forgives your failures, and meets you with compassion in your weakness.
A Better Measure of Success
The voice of the Lord is powerful and majestic. And when we begin to see our children through the lens of who God is and what he says, everything shifts.
His ways are higher than ours. His power is unmatched. His love is beyond measure.
And this God—this mighty, glorious God—is the One who created your child.
As mothers, our most important calling is not to craft the perfect schedule, secure the best opportunities, or ensure a flawless outcome. It is to faithfully point our children to him (Deuteronomy 6:7).
Outside of this calling, there is no single “right” way to parent.
There is no perfect timeline for sleep training, no guaranteed formula for raising obedient teenagers, and no foolproof method that ensures our children will walk with the Lord. Practical wisdom can be helpful, even necessary, but it is never ultimate.
What is ultimate is God’s voice.
His voice reminds us that his grace is sufficient.
His voice steadies us when we feel inadequate.
His voice calls us not to perfection, but to faithfulness.
Encouragement for Mothers
Mother’s Day can quietly magnify our insecurities. It can highlight the ways we feel we’re falling short or tempt us to measure ourselves against others.
But God does not measure you that way.
Because of his grace at work in you, you can be encouraged today. He is not absent in your parenting, but he is actively working in and through you, even when you feel weak or unsure.
So when the noise rises, and when the advice piles up and the doubts creep in, return to what is true.
Listen to his voice.
Trust the One who gave your child life, who sustains them, and who loves them infinitely more than you ever could.
And rest in the truth that faithful motherhood is not about getting everything right; it’s about walking closely with the God who already is.
You Are a Child of God
Focusing on your identity as a daughter of God brings comfort in grief, assurance in doubt, and a renewed way of living like nothing else can. This eight-week devotional by Katie Polski encourages readers to live in the freedom, joy, and security of God’s family. As children of God, we are no longer slaves to fear and are set free from condemnation; we can find purpose in suffering and have confidence in a promised future with him. When we begin to realize all of this, it transforms the way we relate with others and with our heavenly Father.
