Letting Go, Asking for Help, and Receiving Grace
Pregnancy has always been emotionally challenging for me. I’ve struggled with pride, control, and the desire to have everything neatly planned and under my direction. As a woman of faith, I’ve come to realize—especially in this season—that pregnancy is a time when God gently teaches us about our limits and His strength.
I’ve set standards for myself that nobody else has set for me. I’ve pushed myself to do more than I can handle. I’ve crossed my own boundaries disregarded my own needs.
Pregnancy is a time of great beauty, yet also a time in which we are greatly humbled. We quickly learn we are in control of nothing. Our body grows and changes in ways that we simply cannot control. We become increasingly slower with all sorts of aches and pains, our bodies change shape, our worries for our unborn child increase and our emotions become unpredictable. We are truly forced to slow down.
Here are three powerful spiritual lessons the Lord has taught me through this sacred season.
For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives. Hebrews 12: 6 – 7
1. Letting Go of Control During Pregnancy
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11
It’s hard to admit, but I have learned that my plans are not always the Lord’s. I can’t function at the same pace I once did. I need to slow down. I need to rest. And that’s okay.
Pregnancy has a way of stripping us of our self-made identities—of the need to feel like we have it all together. God used this time to teach me to loosen my grip on control and surrender more deeply to Him. Not just in thought, but in the quiet, painful spaces of everyday life. Cognitively I know that the Lord is my refuge and my security. The Lord has slowly used this pregnancy to whisper it also into my heart, that I may proclaim it from there too.
2. Learning to Ask for Help as a Catholic Mom
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” – Luke 14:11
I believed I had to do it all. That no one could do it quite like me. But that mindset only led to burnout.
The Lord, in His mercy, reminded me that I don’t have to carry every burden alone. He’s placed people around me who love me, and when I ask for help, I’m inviting others to serve and love as Christ calls them to. I’ve learned to speak up, to admit my limits, and to trust that it’s okay not to be okay. I have had to learn how to open my mouth and ask for the help I need. I’ve had to understand that all burdens are not mine to shoulder on my own as if I existed on an island alone.
3. Accepting Help with Humility and Gratitude
Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2
Asking is one thing. But accepting? That’s another battle.
So many times, my husband or family would offer to help, and I’d wave them off. Then later, I’d wonder why I was still so tired and resentful. God lovingly showed me that by rejecting help, I was also rejecting His provision.
Now, I try to pause, to receive the help that’s offered with grace, and to let others grow in their love for me too. This is how we build up the Body of Christ—even in the laundry room, even with aching feet.
A Word of Encouragement for the Pregnant Mama Who’s Tired
To the mother walking this journey of pregnancy—exhausted, sore, emotionally stretched—I see you.
I pray that you learn to let go of impossible standards. I pray you lean on God and those around you. That you not only ask for help, but accept it when it comes.
Because when we learn to ask others for help, we are also learning to ask and receive from the Lord. And that’s where grace meets us—in our surrender.
I recommend you pray the prayer of surrender by Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo.
O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!
If you would like to pray the Surrender Novena you can find it here.
Let’s Connect
Have you struggled with control, asking for help, or receiving it?
Share your story below—I’d love to hear from you and walk with you.
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