When Lent approaches, many mothers feel the pressure. More prayer. More sacrifices. More intentions. And somehow, less time.

On Morning Air, Rachel Bulman offered a refreshing perspective for moms who already feel stretched thin by children, work, car lines, laundry, and late nights waiting for teenagers to come home.

“I think that maybe the best thing going into Lent… is just to go in and not pile on the list,” Rachel said.

It’s tempting to declare, “This will be my best Lent ever,” and then create a checklist worthy of a monastery: daily Rosary, daily Mass, multiple spiritual books, extra devotions. But for a busy mom, that can lead to discouragement before Ash Wednesday even arrives.

Instead, Rachel encourages starting small.

“You know, I want to start my morning off and get up maybe 10 minutes earlier and spend that time with the Lord. That’s a really realistic thing to start out with.”

For mothers already living sacrificial love in hidden ways, Lent doesn’t begin from zero. Sleepless nights, selfless service, and patient endurance are already forms of participation in the Cross. That’s not a “free pass,” Rachel notes, but it is a reminder to begin within your real circumstances.

The same wisdom applies to children. Rather than policing every Lenten promise, Rachel suggests modeling devotion and allowing kids to grow in responsibility. When children see authentic faith lived out, they remember.

“Let me not ask for perfection. Let me ask for progress. Let me just grow closer to You.”

Rachel reminds us that true perfection looks like Jesus on the Cross, love poured out, even after falling and rising again. Lent is about returning to Christ, again and again.

Silence, too, can begin small. Five minutes in the car line. A simple night prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. A morning offering that surrenders the day before it begins.

Because holiness in motherhood isn’t found in doing everything. It’s found in offering everything.

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