Excerpt from THRIVE AND SURVIVE, ZERO TO FIVE

When I (Margaret) had all seven children at home, I continually failed to have private devotional time with God. I tried meeting with Him after all the kids were in bed at night, but that only resulted in me falling asleep too. I tried the early-morning thing, but it never failed that one of the children would wake earlier than usual and need me.

I tried naptimes, but babies don’t coordinate their sleeping habits with toddlers, and getting them all unconscious at the same time didn’t happen often. Besides, if I used naptime for my devotions, when was I to catch up on all that had been left undone during the morning? Still, I knew I needed God’s steady stream of advice if I wanted to be a good mother.

Meeting less and less with the Lord, I began playing out the dilemma in my mind. The Lord loved children, sending each one as a special gift. But He also wanted to meet with me. I worried about keeping Him waiting while I continually tried to get to Him without success.

Then one day my heart heard from God. “I can meet with you smack dab in the middle of your crowded days.”

He filled my mind with biblical examples. “Didn’t I meet with Peter out in a boat? And didn’t I counsel my disciples at the beach? Don’t you remember how I chatted with Zacchaeus in a tree and taught two men on a long walk? I’ve had meaningful meetings with people in gardens, on mountainsides, during dinners, in courtrooms, on roadsides, and in cemeteries. Can’t you and I talk like that?”

I felt as if I’d had a devotional aha moment, and my heart surged with hope for success at learning from the Lord. Maybe He would talk with me as I peeled carrots or calm my spirit while I folded laundry. Maybe He’d instruct me as the kids and I raked leaves or shoveled snow. And if I was watching for Him, He might minister to me in the middle of the night as I fed a baby or rocked a feverish child.

SIDEBAR: HOW TO FIND TIME FOR GOD

• Restrict time on social media.
• Watch for small pockets of peace to connect with God.
• Ditch the idea of a perfect quiet time.
• Know that God doesn’t hold it against you if you can’t meet with Him.
• Believe that quick “arrow prayers” have power.
• Worship through hymns and choruses.
• Tune in to Christian radio.
• Keep trying.