When the Middle Feels Like the End: A March Reflection for the Weary Homeschool Mom
It happens in March.
The winter has worn long, the ink of new beginnings from January has smudged into something faded and tired, and spring-oh, spring-still feels like a rumor whispered by a world that hasn’t quite thawed yet.
You stand in the middle of the homeschool year, and somehow, it feels like its crumbling to the end.
You try to push through, but the days stack heavy. The math lesson drags. The toddler spills her juice. The teenager withdraws. The baby cries. And you, mama, you are the one who keeps it all from toppling over-until you aren’t sure how much longer you can stand beneath the weight of it.
And somewhere in the exhaustion, a whisper slips in:
“You should be further along.”
“You should be doing more.”
“You should have figured this out by now.”
You know this whisper well. It comes in the middle of the night when the house is finally quiet. It lingers in the middle of the day when the lesson plans unravel and the laundry piles grow.
But the whisper is a lie.
Because you are not behind. You are not failing. You are not unraveling.
You are being strengthened.
The Middle Is Where Strength Grows
This is the part no one tells you.
The middle is where faith is built. The middle is where endurance is formed. The middle is where trust becomes more than just a word-it becomes breath and muscle and the only way forward.
And maybe you don’t feel strong right now. Maybe you feel anything but.
But strength isn’t something you feel first. Strength is something you choose first.
Like opening the Word when the weariness says you don’t have time.
Like speaking kindness when the day frays at the edges.
Like picking up the read-aloud when you’d rather pick up your phone.
Like holding the child close when impatience begs you to push away.
Like lifting your hands in surrender when you’d rather lift them in frustration.
This is how we grow strong in the middle.
Not by striving harder-but by anchoring deeper.
Spring Always Comes
So, you sit there in March, somewhere between tired and undone.
And you need to hear this, mama: Winter never lasts forever.
What feels like a never-ending middle is actually the ground where something new is breaking through.
You cannot see the roots growing beneath the surface. You cannot see the buds forming beneath the branches. You cannot see the way the stretching, aching, pressing seasons are forming a deeper strength inside of you.
But He does.
He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. -Philippians 1:6
So, keep showing up, even in the middle. Keep pressing in, even when it feels like nothing is moving. Keep trusting, even when you can’t see the growth yet.
Because spring always comes.
And when it does?
You’ll look back at this middle season, and you’ll see it for what it really was-the place where you grew unshakable.
Gracious Lord,
In the weariness of this season, be the strength I cannot manufacture on my own. When I feel behind, remind I am held. When I feel weak, remind me You are strong. When I feel like giving up, anchor me deeper in You. Spring is coming, I know it is-But until it does, give me the grace to stand firm in the middle.
Amen and amen.
