A sample of Held: A 50 Day Devotional For Parents
Held
A 50 Day Devotional for Parents
Jacqueline Whitney
Thought Catalog Books
thoughtcatalog.com
Copyright © 2026 Jacqueline Whitney.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or any means, electronic or mechanical, without prior written consent and permission from Thought Catalog.
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Produced by Chris Lavergne and Noelle Beams
Art direction and design by KJ Parish
Circulation management by Isidoros Karamitopoulos
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First Limited Edition Print
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 978-1-965820-31-5
Contents
- God chose your personality to parent your child. — 7
- You don’t need to look something up online to validate your feelings. — 9
- Trust yourself instead... — 11
- Having mental health struggles doesn’t make you a bad parent. — 13
- Parenting is holy work. Caring for a home and family is worship. — 15
- Little prayers of gratitude for when you’re in the trenches... — 17
- Even on the days that are hard, these are the days you prayed for. — 19
- Sometimes reflection and refocusing can turn your day around. — 21
- You can’t pour from an empty cup. — 23
- It’s okay to step away to take a breath. — 25
- You and your partner are on the same team. — 27
- You are going to make it... — 29
- No one knows your story, God knows it all. — 31
- No one could have prepared you... — 33
- You will get through today. — 35
- Every season passes. — 37
- You are not a burden. — 39
- You are allowed to protect your peace... — 41
- It’s okay to grieve the life you had before becoming a parent. — 43
- Surrender to parenthood. — 45
- Even when your cup is empty... — 47
- They won’t remember the mess, they’ll remember the love. — 49
- Shift your eyes toward heaven. — 51
- You are doing better than you think you are. — 53
- Nothing lasts forever. — 57
- Thank you for being you. — 59
- You are appreciated. You are needed. You are valued. — 61
- God is so proud of the parent you’ve become. — 63
- These days are the whole point of it all. — 65
- Sometimes we forget just how blessed we are. — 67
- Give yourself a moment of reflection. — 69
- You are held while holding everything together. — 71
- Let God carry the weight you were never meant to carry alone. — 73
- Look at how far you’ve come. — 75
- God created a path for your child... — 77
- Please, be kind to yourself. — 79
- Learn to quiet a mind that overthinks. — 81
- Trust God in seasons of waiting. — 83
- When your hard work feels invisible, stay the course. — 85
- Let go of the guilt of "not doing enough." — 87
- Sometimes you will feel distant from your partner. — 89
- Allow communication to resurface after a season of disconnect. — 91
- Remember why you chose each other. — 93
- Be the one who bends toward healing... — 95
- God is always speaking to you. — 97
- The love you have for someone in heaven never ends. — 99
- Grief will show up in the middle of ordinary days. — 101
- It’s normal to feel overstimulated. — 103
- You are not losing yourself in parenthood. — 105
Foreword
There is no season that transforms you more than becoming a parent. There is no season that stretches your patience, softens your heart, deepens your love, and reveals your limitations quite like this one. Parenting is beautiful, but it is also hard. It is filled with moments that leave you breathless with gratitude and moments that leave you questioning everything you thought you knew.
This devotional is for the parent who is trying.
For the parent who feels overwhelmed.
For the parent who wants to hear from God
but can barely find a quiet moment.
For the parent who doubts themselves
more than anyone realizes.
For the parent who wants to be faithful but
feels tired, stretched thin, or unseen.
These pages are meant to meet you where you are—tired, hopeful, discouraged, growing, learning, becoming. You don’t have to show up polished. You don’t need the right words. You only need to be open.
God is here.
In the mess.
In the noise.
In the exhaustion.
In the ordinary routines.
In the big feelings.
In the little moments.
He is shaping you in ways you cannot see yet. He is strengthening you through every challenge. He is softening you through every difficult moment. He is guiding you through every season, one breath at a time.
These 50 days are an invitation to slow down, reconnect with God, and remember that you are not parenting alone. You are held. You are guided. You are chosen. You are becoming the parent God has always known you could be.
Take a breath.
Set your expectations down.
Let God meet you here.
Day 1: God chose your personality to parent your child.
Devotional
It’s so easy to feel like we’re supposed to do things the way other parents are. It’s so easy to get lost in the trap of comparison and opinions. You think to yourself, "Well, they have more experience than me." Or, "Their child seems to be doing better than mine so maybe I’m doing something wrong." Everything that you are doing for your child is right. Don’t let shame, guilt, or doubt creep in. God needs you to parent your child with your instincts and personality. Our children are picked for us specifically—how beautiful is that.
Prayer
God, thank You for choosing me for my child. Help me trust that You placed us together on purpose, with a purpose.
Day 2: You don’t need to look something up online to validate your feelings.
Devotional
It’s overwhelming making decisions for our kids. Figuring out what’s best for them is scary sometimes, because what if you’re wrong? What if the choices you make for them aren’t what helps them the most? When it comes to raising children, there is no right or wrong if you’re trusting your heart. God gives you discernment and wisdom. Your gut feelings are that discerning influence of God. You are free to ask God for the clarity you need and He will always answer—even if it doesn’t come right away. Listen. What other validation do you really need? You don’t need to go down rabbit holes, you need to look up to Him. Trust your instincts.
Prayer
God, help me trust the instincts You’ve placed within me. Quiet the noise so I can hear Your guidance.
Day 3: Trust yourself instead of allowing other parents’ decisions to influence the choices you make for your child.
Devotional
There are many paths to raising a healthy, loved child. Every parent makes choices shaped by their unique family, needs, values, and circumstances. Comparison tries to convince you that different means wrong—but different simply means different. God didn’t design families to look the same. He designed them to reflect His creativity, His grace, His variety. You’re not called to parent like everyone else. You’re called to parent faithfully where God has placed you. Some people are so quick to pass judgement or share their passive aggressive opinions when people don’t make the same decisions as them. It takes all kinds of kinds to make the world go around. If your child is loved and cared for, there’s no right or wrong answer to the rest. Trust the story that He’s writing in your home. It doesn’t need to match anyone else’s to be beautiful.
Prayer
God, help me stay focused on the path You’ve set before my family, not the one You’ve set for others.
Day 4: Having mental health struggles doesn’t make you a bad parent.
Devotional
There are battles that happen quietly inside the mind—battles no one else sees. Moments of overwhelm that make you question your strength or your worth. But God sees your struggle with compassion, not disappointment. Your feelings don’t disqualify you from being a good parent. They reveal your humanity and your deep desire to love well, even when you’re hurting. God is not asking you to be superhuman. He welcomes your honesty, your exhaustion, your trembling prayers. Seeking help takes courage, not failure. You are not broken—you are held.
You can’t always pray your way out of what’s going on in your mind. You can’t always heal with God and God alone. While God is the ultimate healer, He understands you are a human being, with a brain that sometimes needs a little extra help. He doesn’t want you to feel shame or guilt for not being able to handle it all on your own.
Of course there are things you can do or consume that will affect the way you feel, but that’s different. If you’ve begged and pleaded with God to remove these feelings yet you still feel them, it doesn’t make you a failure. It makes you human. God still loves you. He hasn’t forgotten you.
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