Letter 5, When They’re All Small

A Letter to the Kingdom-Building Momma in the Difficult Season of Raising Littles

Dear Momma,

Perhaps you are still nursing every two to four hours, pumping milk around the clock, waking for nighttime feedings, and planning your days around naps.

Maybe you are wearing one baby while your toddler sits on your knee.

Perhaps it is not just one baby and a toddler.

Perhaps it is two—or even three.

Or maybe you have moved beyond that stage. The baby gates have come down, and some of the toddler toys have made their way into the garage. Yet somehow, the needs have not become smaller. They have simply changed.

I know this season well.

It was—and, in many ways, still is—my season.

The days seemed to blend together as feeding schedules, potty training, naptimes, meal preparation, swim meets, choir concerts, and yet another birthday tugged on the little I felt I had left to give.

I rarely slept through an entire night. When I finally did, I worried that it would affect my milk production, so I woke up to pump anyway.

I carried constant guilt because I knew I was increasing the television and tablet time for my toddlers so I could care for the twins.

My teenagers continually had to wait for me to take them somewhere or give them the attention they needed because I was spread so thin.

My prayers often sounded more like “Help me” accompanied by tears than a multitude of beautiful words.

But I listened more.

I sat still longer.

I depended on the Holy Spirit for the next step and the next breath.

Those were the years that shaped my prayer life and drew me closer to Him.

I learned to communicate with Jesus without being alone in a prayer closet. I allowed morning devotion to become an all-day conversation because, although I desperately wanted to be alone with Him before starting my day, it did not always happen that way.

So I learned to meet Him in the middle of it.

Momma, are you there now?

Are you feeling overwhelmed by a season that seemed to arrive without warning and has now overstayed its welcome?

This season snuck up on me. Perhaps it is because the 44-year-old version of me does not carry the physical, mental, and emotional demands of parenting as easily as the 26- or 34-year-old version once did.

Almost overnight, the twins began talking, running away from me, taking turns having crying fits, and fighting over every little thing.

My five-year-old began demanding his own space and learning how to make himself heard. He is much more vocal now.

My six-year-old—my only girl—is independently becoming a smaller version of me while helping me and her brothers in ways God knew I would need.

My teenagers need sincere, heart-to-heart conversations. They need time to process life-altering decisions and guidance as they map out their journeys toward becoming young men.

These needs reach far and wide.

I am called to mother in many directions, yet each one must flow from the same place:

A place of prayer.

A place of wisdom.

A place of patience.

A place of trusting God.

My husband and I did not choose an easy road.

We trusted God and chose the path He led us to. Even when we have strayed from it, He has remained there.

When I grow weary, He is there.

Wherever you are—in the thick of diapers and tantrums or navigating teenage emotions and daylong carpools—

He is there.

For our family, finding a babysitter is not simple—not for four younger children—and our extended family is no longer only minutes away.

Many days and many weekends:

We. Are. Tired.

This land of raising littles is another world.

It requires deeper patience, greater strength, quicker reflexes, a different language, and more preparation and planning for nearly every move we make.

We do not move spontaneously anymore.

We sit.

We pray.

We talk.

We plan.

We agree before we move.

Perhaps this is the new rhythm God is developing in us for the season we will enter when this one ends.

Because we must remember:

It will not always be this way.

Diapers will graduate into big-kid pants.

Wiggly teeth will be replaced by permanent ones.

One day, we will go from cutting their chicken into tiny pieces to watching them prepare dinner themselves.

This season will end. It will shift into another space and another place.

Do not become discouraged.

Do not surrender your desire to live peacefully through it.

What you are doing is not easy. Motherhood cannot be packaged into a flawless system that you can perfectly control.

It can, however, become a place where you allow the Holy Spirit to lead.

Together, you can develop a rhythm, flow, and pace that guides little hands, shepherds growing hearts, and produces beautiful fruit for a future day.

You are not antisocial.

You are tired.

You are not lazy.

You are exhausted.

You are overstimulated and searching for moments of rest that you often cannot find.

Perhaps this is your most difficult season. Perhaps another season will bring challenges of its own.

But perhaps this is also the place God is using to draw us into deeper dependence upon Him.

It is where we learn to appreciate rest and treasure the hands that come to help us.

Perhaps this is the gentle push reminding us not to neglect community.

When we find that community, our hearts begin to beat more tenderly for the families walking through this season beside us.

Perhaps without this season, we would not have stopped to notice the momma who needs to be reminded:

You are not alone.

You were never meant to carry everything alone.

Jesus sees you.

He wants every burden you are holding.

We need community.

Jesus modeled life in community.

If you are reading this and wondering how to find other mommas who are tired, weary, and carrying the weight of raising littles just as you are, connect with me here.

Let us build what we need together.

Sometimes the village begins with just one other person who is on the road with you.

I am here for you. I created this space to encourage you on the journey.

And more importantly—

Jesus is with you.

Scriptures to Read & Journal Through

“He will care for you as a shepherd tends his flock, gathering the weak lambs and taking them in his arms. He carries them close to his heart and gently leads those that have young.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭11‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Do you believe God cares for you?

What do you need to give Him today that you are carrying?

“Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me. For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Have you joined your life to Christ’s?

If not, what’s keeping you from doing so?

Can you commit fully to joining to Him today?

“Love empowers us to fulfill the law of the Anointed One as we carry each other’s troubles.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Journal the Journey

•Is there a person in your life that you can help in a difficult time?

•Who are you walking with right now?

•Can you be intentional about walking with someone else through this journey through your local church, a community moms group or play group?

Keep growing. Keep healing. Keep loving. Keep your eyes on ABBA.

With a sincere heart,

Jantina💕

If this letter met you in a tender place, would you share it with another momma who may need grace today?

And if you have ever pursued ambition over purpose, I would love for you to share that moment in the comments. Your story may become the encouragement another mother needs.

© 2026 Jantina Masters. All rights reserved.

Please do not reproduce or distribute this letter without written permission. Brief quotations may be shared with proper credit to Jantina Masters and a link to the original publication.