🌸 What Do You Need to Come Back To?

Scripture

“Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.
— Malachi 3:7

THE MOMENT

Driving home from a short vacation, somewhere between “I could use another few days” and “I cannot wait to sleep in my own bed,” 😂 I started thinking about how good it feels to get away.

But I also thought about how good it can feel to come back.

There is something about returning home.

Your own bed.
Your own kitchen.
Your familiar routines.

Even unpacking the suitcase does not seem quite as bad when you are finally home. Well...maybe. 😂

But somewhere on that drive, I realized that coming back is not only something we do after vacation.

Sometimes we need to come back in life, too.

TODAY’S REFLECTION

Life has a way of pulling us forward.

The next appointment.
The next responsibility.
The next thing our children need.
The next work or ministry assignment.
The next family situation.
The next problem to solve.

We keep moving because that is what women so often do.

But sometimes, while taking care of everything and everyone, we can drift away from things we never intended to leave behind.

Our quiet time with God.

A friendship we meant to nurture.

Family dinners.

Taking care of ourselves.

A dream we put on the shelf.

The habit of actually sitting still long enough to hear ourselves think.

Maybe even the version of ourselves that laughed more, rested without guilt, called friends just because, and did not feel as though every minute had to be productive.

And sometimes we drift from God.

Not because we stopped loving Him.

Life simply got loud.

SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO COME BACK

The beautiful thing about God is that He allows us to return.

We do not have to wait until everything is fixed.

We do not have to explain where we have been.

We do not have to pretend we never wandered.

We can simply come back.

Back to prayer.

Back to His Word.

Back to trusting Him.

Back to the people who matter.

Back to something we know God placed in our hearts.

Back to taking care of the woman in the mirror.

And coming back does not necessarily mean returning to exactly where we left off.

Sometimes we come back rested.

Sometimes wiser.

Sometimes a little bruised.

Sometimes more grateful.

Sometimes with clearer eyes about what deserves our attention—and what no longer does.

A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT

Maybe today is not about adding something else to your life.

Maybe it is about asking:

What do I need to come back to?

Is it God?

Prayer?

Your family?

A friendship?

Your health?

Rest?

Joy?

Something you once loved doing?

Or perhaps you need to come back to yourself—the woman God created before life became so busy that everybody else's needs started speaking louder than your own.

There is value in moving forward.

But there is also wisdom in knowing when to pause, turn around, and return to what matters.

And here's what I love:

God is not standing at the door asking why it took you so long.

He is simply glad you came back.

MOMENT PRAYER

Lord,

Thank You for being a God who welcomes us back.

When life becomes busy and I lose sight of what matters most, help me recognize it.

Bring me back to You.

Bring me back to prayer.

Bring me back to the people and things You have entrusted to me.

Help me release what no longer deserves so much of my energy and return my attention to what does.

And when I need rest, remind me that pausing is not quitting.

Sometimes stepping away gives me the clarity I need to come back differently.

Amen.

YOUR MOMENT

What is one thing you need to come back to?

Don't make a ten-item list.

Just name one.

And this week, take one small step toward it.

Maybe open your Bible again.

Call the friend.

Have dinner at the table.

Take the walk.

Pick up the project.

Sit quietly with God.

Or simply give yourself permission to rest.

You don't always have to start something new.

Sometimes you just need to come back. ❤️

Pause. Pray. Return.

❤️ Every MOMENT Matters.

— Monica Lynne Wilkins
MOMENT Moms™
MOMENTMoms.org

🌸Make Room for Her

Scripture

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:11

THE MOMENT

Sometimes supporting another woman looks very spiritual.

We pray with her.
We send her a Scripture.
We remind her that God has not forgotten her.

And sometimes it looks like sitting on the floor helping her take braids out of her hair. 😊

It looks like watching her children for a couple of hours because she needs a break.

Dropping off dinner when somebody is sick.

Sitting quietly with a friend whose marriage is falling apart—and resisting the urge to give her a dozen opinions.

Checking on the woman who has lost someone she loves, not only the week of the funeral, but three months later when everyone else has returned to their lives.

It is supporting the woman trying to start something new. Showing up for her event. Sharing her work. Celebrating when something finally goes right.

Sometimes ministry looks a whole lot like friendship.

And sometimes friendship itself becomes ministry—even when we never call it that.

TODAY’S REFLECTION

We hear a lot about community.

But real community requires more than being friendly with the people we already know.

It requires making room.

Room at our tables.
Room in our schedules.
Room in our lives.
Room in our friendship circles.

Most of us already have our people. The friends we call first. The women we meet for lunch. The people whose children know our children. The ones who already know our stories.

There is nothing wrong with having a close circle.

But maybe every now and then, God asks us to pull up another chair and widen it.

And that woman may not look like us, worship like us, live like us, or come from the same background.

She may attend church every week.

She may not attend church at all.

She may be a neighbor you've waved to for three years but never really gotten to know.

A coworker.

Another mom at your child's school.

The woman who always seems to be sitting by herself.

Someone new to the neighborhood.

Or even someone you have known for years but never taken the time to really know.

Invite her to lunch.

Ask her to meet for coffee.

Take a walk.

Plan a girls' night and invite somebody new.

Offer to babysit.

Bring the casserole.

Make the phone call.

Help her take out her braids or wash her hair. 😂

Sit in the hospital waiting room.

Celebrate her good news without comparing it to your own life.

And when life gets hard—divorce, illness, caregiving, financial struggles, grief, problems with our children, or simply one of those seasons when life feels like too much—don't disappear because you don't know what to say.

Sometimes “I'm here” is enough.

A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT

Jesus had a remarkable way of noticing people.

He went to homes.

He ate with people.

He stopped along the road.

He talked with people others overlooked.

He crossed social and cultural boundaries.

And He made room.

Maybe we can do the same.

Not necessarily by starting another program.

Not with another group chat.

Not by collecting more followers or spending more time scrolling through other people's lives.

Maybe it starts by looking up from our phones and noticing the woman who is already right in front of us.

Sometimes building community begins with four simple words:

“Come sit with us.”

MOMENT PRAYER

Lord,

Help us become women who make room for other women.

Teach us to notice the woman who needs encouragement, practical help, friendship, prayer—or simply someone willing to sit beside her.

Help us look beyond our familiar circles and see the people You have placed around us.

Give us generous hearts, open homes, listening ears, and willing hands.

Help us love people without first requiring them to believe what we believe, live as we live, or already belong to our circle.

And when we say, “I'm praying for you,” remind us to also ask,

“Is there something I can do?”

Amen.

Your MOMENT:‍ ‍

What is one simple way another woman has shown up for you when you needed her?

THIS WEEK'S MOMENT CHALLENGE

Think of one woman outside your usual circle.

Not necessarily someone from church.

Maybe she's a neighbor, coworker, another mom, an old friend you've lost touch with, or someone you keep seeing but have never really gotten to know.

Invite her in.

Lunch. Coffee. A walk. Girls' night. A playdate. A phone call. A seat beside you. Or even a simple text:

“Hey, I was thinking about you. How are you—really?”

And if you already know a woman going through a difficult season, do one practical thing for her this week.

Nothing elaborate.

Just show up.

Because sometimes the MOMENT God gives us to encourage another woman may seem ordinary to us...

but it may be exactly the MOMENT she needed.

Pause. Pray. Notice. Make room.

❤️ Every MOMENT Matters.

— Monica Lynne Wilkins
MOMENT Moms™
MOMENTMoms.org