Any new role you take on in life and any new season you step into brings so much change that it can really tend to rock your spiritual life. When you get married, you have an entirely new person in your life to devote time to, and if we aren’t careful we can neglect the time that we should be spending with the Lord. Then down the road, add kids into the mix and it’s learning that balance and what it looks like to you all over again.

This past year has been up and down for me. There have been seasons where I found it incredibly easy to get to a quiet place in the morning and have at least half an hour in the Lord’s presence. Then there have been seasons where I couldn’t find a moment to myself to breathe, yet alone get a good solid devotion time in. It was a struggle for so long for me. A struggle that devotions weren’t looking like they used to, or that I had in my mind they were supposed to, or what the Christian culture around me says they should resemble. I was feeling defeated in that I could never hold up to this standard that I should in my relationship with Christ.

But there is something I have realized over the past year: God is with me throughout my entire day. He meets me in the stillness in His presence. But He also meets me in the chaos of raising a child. He meets me when I am up before the first peep is made in the house. But He also meets me when my eyes don’t open until my child babbling in his crib comes through the baby monitor. When I find time to just sit and be in His presence, He meets me there. When I dwell on Him in the chaotic moments of motherhood and housekeeping, He meets me there.

There isn’t a framework, guideline, or list of rules to how my time in the Lord’s presence should look. That’s because there isn’t just a time set aside in my day that I should be devoting to Him, I should be walking out my day in it’s entirety in His presence. As I am taking care of the house, I can worship Him. As I am playing and wrangling a toddler throughout the day I can worship Him. My relationship with Him is nurtured by walking in His presence daily. Some days, this will look like quiet time curled up on the couch with my Bible and journal. Other days, this will look like prayers amidst my responsibilities for the day.

I believe time spent in the presence of God is one of the most important ways to spend our time. I know that God graces me through these days, that He isn’t upset when that time doesn’t look like the poster for perfect devotional time. He calls us to live our day in His presence. No matter what that looks like to me today or tomorrow, whether it’s in stillness or in chaos, time spent in His presence is what really matters.

Don’t get caught up and burdened by your devotional life when it doesn’t look poster perfect. I believe that condemnation isn’t what God would want us to feel about being in His presence. Focus on living your day in it’s entirety in the Lord’s presence. Soak up the quiet times that you have. Make time in the chaos to worship Him. Remember to wrap yourself in His presence AND His grace.