Guilt, God and the Game Schedule: Trying to Be a Good Mom in a Busy Season

There’s a moment almost every day lately where I sit in my car, usually in a parking lot outside a practice field, and I think: I am not doing any of this well.

Not the house.

Not the meals.

Not the quality time.

Not the quiet time with God I swore I’d protect.

Just… surviving the schedule.

Between basketball practices, baseball games, homework, laundry, and trying to remember if anyone ate something green this week, life feels less like a rhythm and more like a sprint I didn’t train for. And somewhere in the middle of it all the guilt creeps in.

The Guilt Is Loud

It often sounds like:

You should be more present.

You should be more patient.

You should be more organized.

You should be doing more spiritually.

You should. You should. You should.

And if I’m being honest? Sometimes I don’t feel like the “good Christian mom,” I want to be. My prayers sound like: “God, please help me not lose my $hit before 8pm.” My Bible stays closed more than I’d like. My patience runs thin faster than I’d like to admit. And my best often feels… not very impressive.

But This Is the Season I’m In

Not the slow, quiet, picture perfect one.

The loud one. The busy one. The eat in the car, hair in a dirty messy bun, running five (or ten) minutes late one.

The one where my daughter is chasing her confidence on the court and my son is finding his place on the field. The one where I’m sitting on the sidelines trying to hold it all together. And I keep wondering… Am I a good mom in the chaos of all of this?Can I still be close to God with everything going on here?

I Think We’ve Been Lied To About What “Good” Looks Like

Somewhere along the way, we started believing that a “good mom” is:

• Calm all the time (or at least most of it)

• Fully present in every moment

• Spiritually disciplined and consistent

• Never overwhelmed, never stretched too thin

But that version of motherhood? It doesn’t exist. Not in real life. Not in busy seasons. Not in mine.

God Is Not Waiting for My Life to Slow Down

This is the part I’m learning. Slowly.

God is not standing at the finish line of this season of life saying, “Come back to me when things calm down.” He’s right here in the middle of it all. In the car and on the bleachers. In the chaos of a Tuesday night when dinner is from a bag (probably Chick-fil-a) and everyone is tired.

He meets me in whispered prayers. In deep breaths between innings. In the quiet moments after the kids fall asleep and I finally have time to exhale.

Maybe faith in this season doesn’t look like long quiet times. Maybe it looks like constant returning.

What If I’m Not Failing?

What if being a “good mom” right now looks like:

• Showing up, even when I’m tired

• Cheering loud from the sidelines

• Apologizing when I lose my patience

• Feeding my kids (even if it's from a bag)

• Praying small, honest prayers throughout the day

What if this messy, loud, overstretched version of motherhood is Him shaping me for my next season?

The Truth I’m Holding Onto

I may feel behind and scattered. I may feel like I’m dropping the ball in more ways than one.

But my kids? They’re not measuring me by perfection.

They see me there. They hear me cheering. They feel me trying.

And God?

He isn’t asking me to do this season perfectly. He’s asking me to stay close.

So Tonight…

I’ll probably still rush through dinner. I might still lose my patience. And the laundry will still be sitting in its semi-permanent spot on the couch.

But I’ll also:

Sit in the stands. Watch my babies do what they love. Whisper a prayer or two. And remind myself: This season may be full, but it’s also full of purpose.

I’m not falling short. I’m right where I’m supposed to be.