A biblical reflection on Christian encouragement for moms, Titus 2, and the small choices that quietly shape our homes, hearts, and families.
There are thousands of choices we make every single day. Some are obvious—what to cook for dinner, whether to weed the garden, or if today is finally the day we tackle the laundry pile.
But the choices that shape our lives the most are often the ones no one else ever sees. Will I choose gratitude or frustration? Will I choose patience or irritation? Will I choose to see God’s goodness in this ordinary Tuesday, or will I rush through it wishing I were somewhere else?
Lately I’ve been thinking about something I’ve seen all over social media. Maybe you’ve seen it too. Younger moms pushing back against older women who tell them, “Treasure this season with littles.” Or, “It goes by so fast.” The videos are almost demeaning, almost like telling the Karens to shush up.
And if I’m honest…
I understand why. When you’re exhausted, overwhelmed, and simply trying to survive another day, those words can feel dismissive instead of encouraging. Ironically, I don’t even enjoy hearing them myself.
I’m painfully aware that I’m living in what will someday become “the good old days.” And somehow, that awareness can almost steal the joy of the present.
The thesis statement of today’s video is this:
The ordinary choices we make today become the memories—and the character—we carry tomorrow.
Not just the work of homemaking…but the posture of our hearts while we’re doing it. There is going to be lots of gardens, recipes, sourdough, and homemaking in today’s video. I hope you’ll join me. Welcome to Healing Home. I hope you are encouraged and inspired by your time here.
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More Than Empty Clichés
I understand why so many mothers are tired of hearing the same phrases.
“You’ll miss these days.”
“Enjoy every moment.”
“It all goes by so fast.”
The truth is, not every moment is enjoyable. There are sleepless nights, endless dishes, sibling arguments, sick kids, financial stress, and seasons when you’re simply trying to make it to bedtime. Pretending those moments are magical doesn’t help anyone.
Late Summer Gardening and What They Are Actually Trying to Tell Us
After chores outside, the boys disappeared into the yard to build an elaborate battlefield for their little toy soldiers.
They gathered sticks, moved dirt, dug trenches, and spent hours creating an imaginary world that probably looked like nothing more than a pile of branches to anyone else. Meanwhile, I was pulling weeds from the garden.
Just another ordinary day.
And yet those ordinary days are quietly becoming our lives.
Maybe that’s why those familiar phrases stir up such strong emotions. Deep down, I think we all know they’re pointing to something true—we’re just not always sure they’re saying it well. Because when you’re living in the middle of days with littles, “treasure every moment” can feel impossible.
So maybe the question isn’t whether older women are right or wrong.
Maybe the better question is this:
What are they actually trying to tell us? Are they asking us to pretend motherhood is easier than it is? Or are they offering a kind of wisdom that can only come from looking back over a lifetime?
I think there’s an important difference.
Wisdom That Comes With Years
Last week I was listening to the Homemaker Chic podcast, and Shaye Elliott shared something that immediately resonated with me. She talked about working in the garden while her children ran around her, following along and playing. She remembered older women telling her to “treasure these moments,” and admitted that those reminders weren’t always comforting. She didn’t need someone to tell her it would all go by fast because she already felt those years slipping through her fingers. Yet now, as a woman in a different season of life, she said she finally understands what those older women were trying to tell her.
Her words stayed with me because I realized I’ve felt the very same way. Like Shaye, I don’t necessarily enjoy hearing those reminders. I’m already painfully aware that these are the years I’ll one day look back on. But maybe we’ve misunderstood what many older women are actually trying to say. Perhaps they aren’t asking us to pretend every moment is wonderful. Maybe they’re simply reminding us not to let the hardships of today keep us from recognizing God’s faithfulness in the middle of them. Those are two very different messages.
When I think about it through the lens of Scripture, that perspective makes even more sense. Titus 2 tells older women to teach and encourage younger women—not because they know everything, but because they’ve walked roads we haven’t walked yet. They’ve watched children grow up, experienced disappointments and regrets, and seen God’s faithfulness through seasons we haven’t yet lived. There is wisdom that comes only with time, and I think that’s the kind of wisdom Paul had in mind.
Sourdough and Wisdom
This week I finally pulled my sourdough starter out of the refrigerator after it had been sitting there since April. Honestly, I wasn’t sure it was even going to survive. After a couple of feedings, it came back to life, so I decided to bake my first loaf in months.
If you’ve been wanting to try baking with einkorn, I have a Beginner’s Guide to Einkorn Sourdough on my website that walks through this exact recipe step by step.
It wasn’t perfect. The loaf turned out much denser than I had hoped, and if I were judging it by bakery standards, I probably would have been disappointed. But before church on Sunday, the boys sliced into it, spread butter across the warm bread, and by the time we turned on the van, the entire loaf was gone.
That loaf reminded me a little of wisdom. It doesn’t always arrive wrapped in beautiful words or presented in a way that’s easy to receive. Sometimes it sounds familiar. Sometimes it’s something we’ve heard dozens of times before. But familiar doesn’t mean untrue.
Maybe that’s why we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the voices of older women. Their words aren’t meant to make us feel guilty for finding motherhood hard. They’re meant to remind us that God’s faithfulness is often easier to recognize when we’ve walked with Him for many years. And perhaps that’s exactly why He designed older women to encourage younger women in the first place.
Choosing Faithfulness Over Feelings
God never asks us to pretend motherhood is easy. Scripture is honest about the hardships of life, but it also calls us to something greater than our circumstances. We may not be able to choose the challenges that come our way, but we can choose how we respond to them. Day by day, we choose gratitude over grumbling, patience over frustration, gentleness over anger, and faithfulness over giving up. Those small, ordinary choices are quietly shaping who we become.
Fermented Garlic Honey Recipe and Treasured Moments
This week I’m putting together a batch of fermented honey garlic before cold and flu season arrives. It’s nothing fancy—just garlic, honey, and a few minutes of work. We use it during the winter to boost our immune system and get additional nutrients in our bodies. My recipe process is available at the recipe site if you are interested.
Most of these moments won’t become treasured memories on their own. But the woman we become through faithfully serving our families day after day—that is something we’ll carry with us for years to come.
Response | What Will We Remember? Christian Encouragement for Moms
I’ve been convicted lately that our culture has become very quick to dismiss the words of women who have gone before. I see this especially on social media. I’m not sure why we feel the need to dismiss the wisdom of those who have gone before.
We assume they’re out of touch.
That they don’t understand modern motherhood.
That they’re speaking from nostalgia instead of reality.
Sometimes that’s true.
But I wonder if we’ve become so quick to reject uncomfortable advice that we’ve also rejected the very pattern God designed for the church. Titus 2 isn’t simply a suggestion. It’s God’s good design for women. Older women are called to teach. Younger women are called to listen with humility.
That doesn’t mean every older woman is always right. But it does mean wisdom deserves our attention before our dismissal.
I’m still not particularly fond of hearing, “You’ll miss this someday.”
Maybe I never will be. But perhaps that’s because those words expose something in my own heart. They remind me that I have a choice every single day. Not a choice to make every moment magical. Not a choice to pretend hard seasons aren’t hard.
But a choice to faithfully meet God in the ordinary work He has placed before me. Years from now, I won’t remember every afternoon spent weeding the garden. I won’t remember every loaf of bread.
But I will remember what those ordinary days were quietly shaping me into.
And maybe that’s what the older women have been trying to tell us all along.
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24 ESV
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