Around midday something magical happens in our family’s home. A gentle voice will announce to whoever will listen that they are hungry, and suddenly, before the end of the sentence, their siblings stop what they are doing and join in the lunchtime fanfare. Conversation ensues about what they will make today, and once the menu has been decided, the table is set, and joy takes over as each one gathers something to place on the plates, and a prayer of thanksgiving is offered. From beginning to end, the view of children gathering together to break bread is magical indeed.

All summer I have watched my kids’ daily lunchtime routines while pondering why I think this to be a magical moment in our daily routines. While much can be said of how awesome it is to see them pray together before sharing a meal, what I find to be the greatest gift in this new lunchtime routine is that it signals a new season of motherhood as I am no longer needed to micromanage the details of my children’s daily routines. And perhaps the most magical thing about this transition is that I am not quite sure how we got here. But I guess motherhood is funny like that. You really never know when the last time you change a diaper will be or when the last time your children will need you to give them a bath. One day you wake up and it seems that your children are just doing things on their own, and ‘just like magic’ a new season begins.

And ‘just like magic’ new seasons of motherhood also ring in new challenges and opportunities to grow in our love for our children and in our faithful determination to ensure that they, too, stay grounded in their purpose to know, love, and serve God. As I journey into this new season, I am choosing, in the words of Saint Zelie Martin, to “carry on bravely.” Instead of lamenting how quickly my children are growing up and stepping out onto their journeys without me, I am choosing to bravely lean into what is now; I am choosing not to mourn how quickly my children are growing up, but to embrace this time as an opportunity to show them new ways of living a life directed towards doing God’s will as they inch closer to ‘home.’

As a mom, you know that life moves quickly, and this is one of the hardest things to accept about motherhood. Given the current chaos that we have all experienced these last months, as we adjust to new realities and struggle to answer questions out of unknowns, our seasons of motherhood can often feel that they are moving too fast, that we are unprepared or disconnected from the grounding of our faith. But if you trust and embrace God’s providence, reconnecting to the magical moments that make motherhood the beautiful journey God envisioned for you is possible. For when we embrace the gifts of motherhood and their changing seasons, beautiful things happen—like magical lunchtime routines.