I became a mother through adoption six months after I moved to Haiti. This wasn’t at all planned, according to Jillian’s Personal Goals and Timeline (an actual document I wrote in my early 20’s). But God, of course, had different plans.  

Looking back at my younger self, it is clear I didn’t believe I could do both motherhood and missions at the same time. Hence my well-mapped timeline. At some point in my life, I had adopted the narrative that women must choose one at a time. Missions or motherhood.  

The wise Solomon once said, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). While I used to interpret this to mean that motherhood and missions must be separate seasons of life, I eventually learned that often seasons collide, making new seasons of their own. In other words, mothers can do missions. It just takes balance. For example: 

Balancing priorities: In a season of both motherhood and missions, priorities must shift a little. In order to keep a healthy balance of both, sacrifices often need to be made. I have learned the hard way that my time is limited, so I constantly need to decide what tasks and projects are the most important.  

Balancing schedules: I love a good schedule, but I also realize the need to be flexible. In Haiti, I had a pretty clear-cut routine. The mornings belonged to my kids, the afternoons were for work. Occasionally I had to rearrange, but setting boundaries around my time was key.  

Balancing overlap: Over time, I learned that I could prioritize and schedule all I wanted, but at the end of the day, sometimes my worlds overlapped, and that was okay! More than okay, actually. My work was more impactful because of the joy my kids brought to our community, and my kids learned how to serve and love others by being involved with my work.  

We all need to learn to have balance in our lives. No matter what you need to balance, just remember that there is a season for everything, and God is the creator of them all. So you’ve got this!