What Indonesia Is Teaching Me About Peaceful Motherhood

As I write this, I’m sitting halfway around the world.

Over the past several days, my family and I have navigated crowded airports, long travel days, unfamiliar foods, different languages, and more than a few moments outside our comfort zone.

One of the reasons I love traveling—especially with my boys—is that travel has a way of revealing what’s already inside of us.

When routines disappear, plans change, and everything feels unfamiliar, the thoughts and beliefs we’ve been carrying become much easier to see.

And honestly?

That’s a lot like motherhood.

Motherhood has a way of exposing what we believe too: it reveals our fears, our need for control, the stories we tell ourselves, and the thoughts we rehearse when life doesn’t go according to plan.

As I’ve reflected on this trip so far, I’ve realized that many of the same lessons God has been teaching me in motherhood are showing up here in Indonesia too.

Here are three things He’s reminding me about peace.

1. Peace Doesn’t Come From Control

Before this trip, I received a lot of questions. Some were practical. Some were curious.

But many revealed something deeper.

The interesting thing wasn’t the questions themselves. It was what they revealed.

And if I’m honest, I see that same temptation in motherhood all the time.

Those desires aren’t wrong.

But somewhere along the way, many of us begin believing that peace comes from controlling outcomes. As if our job is to create a perfectly safe life for our children. As if God’s sovereignty depends on our ability to anticipate every possible problem.

As we’ve traveled through Indonesia, I’ve been reminded again and again that peace doesn’t come from knowing exactly what’s going to happen.

Peace comes from knowing Who is with us.

And maybe He’s asking you to trust Him too.

Not because your circumstances feel safe. But because He is trustworthy.

2. Exhaustion Magnifies Whatever We’re Already Believing

Thirty hours of travel has a funny way of exposing what’s happening in your heart.

Somewhere between delayed flights, immigration lines, lost sleep, and tired children, I’ve been reminded of something I often tell moms:

Exhaustion doesn’t create new struggles; it magnifies existing ones.

When we’re tired, it’s harder to catch our thoughts, harder to pause before reacting, harder to notice the stories we’re telling ourselves.

And that’s true whether you’re traveling internationally or standing in your kitchen at 5:30 PM trying to make dinner.

A few days ago, on one of our first days here, after very little sleep, I could feel myself becoming more impatient, more easily irritated, less flexible. The circumstances weren’t actually worse. I was simply exhausted.

And exhaustion made it harder to remember what was true.

That’s why I don’t encourage moms to wait until they’re in the middle of a meltdown to start renewing their minds. The best time to practice peace is before you desperately need it.

Long before this trip, I began practicing something simple.

I started deciding what kind of mom I wanted to be before the day began.

I started reminding myself of what God says is true.

I started choosing beliefs that aligned with Scripture instead of whatever fear or frustration wanted to tell me.

Not perfectly…but consistently.

So now, when exhaustion shows up—as it certainly has during this trip—I have somewhere to return.

I can remind myself of truths like:

• God is with me.
• Hard is not bad.
• My children can do hard things.
• I can do hard things.
• God will provide the strength we need for today.

Those truths don’t remove exhaustion. But they keep exhaustion from becoming the loudest voice in my head.

Oh – and mama, please make sure you are getting enough sleep each night! And guess what, if you are more irritable when you are tired…your kids are too! So prioritize making sure your little ones, no matter how much they fight you on it, are getting enough sleep most nights—international travel days not withstanding, of course…

3. My Children Take Their Cues From Me More Than I Realize

One thing I’ve noticed repeatedly on this trip is how often my boys look (not necessarily physically, but emotionally) to me before deciding how they should respond.

They look at us, moms and dads.

So throughout this trip, I’ve found myself returning to the same phrase:

“This is an adventure.”

Not because everything is easy.

Not because everything is comfortable.

But because mindset shapes experience.

When we frame something as an opportunity instead of a threat, everything changes.

And that’s true at home too.

The atmosphere of our homes is often shaped long before we say a word.

It’s shaped by the thoughts we’ve been rehearsing all day.

That’s one of the most powerful lessons God has taught me over the years: Thoughts shape motherhood.

Not because thoughts magically change circumstances. But because thoughts influence how we show up inside those circumstances. And how we show up influences everyone around us.

A Final Reflection

The longer I’ve been here, the more convinced I am that peace has very little to do with geography.

So, today, whether you’re navigating international travel or simply trying to survive summer with your kids home all day, the process is often the same:

1. Notice the thought.
2. Pay attention to the belief underneath it.
3. Bring it into the light.
4. Ask what God says is true.
5. Then practice returning to that truth throughout the day.

Over and over again.

That’s the work God has been doing in my heart here in Indonesia.

And it’s the same work He wants to do in yours.

A Gentle Place to Begin

Friend, maybe as you’ve read these stories from Indonesia, you’ve recognized some of the same patterns in yourself:

The good news is that you don’t have to stay stuck in those thoughts.

God has given us the ability to notice them, bring them into the light, and replace them with what is true.

That’s exactly what I’ve been practicing here in Indonesia.

And it’s exactly what I practice back home in Colorado too.

Not perfectly; not all at once.

Just one thought at a time; one moment at a time.

One choice to return to Truth at a time.

That’s why I created the Peaceful Mom Reset.

It’s a simple guide that will help you identify the thoughts driving your reactions, uncover the beliefs underneath them, and begin replacing them with God’s Truth.

Because when you start renewing your mind, something beautiful happens: you become less reactive, more peaceful, more intentional, more able to respond the way you want to respond instead of simply reacting from overwhelm.

Your circumstances may not change, your children may not suddenly become easier, but you will begin changing.

And when a mom changes, the atmosphere of her home begins to change too.

Download the Peaceful Mom Reset and take your first step toward the kind of peaceful, Christ-centered motherhood you long for.

And if you’d like to continue traveling with our family through Indonesia, be sure to grab my free 4-Day Indonesia Family Devotional—a simple way to help your children discover God’s heart for the nations while following along on our adventure.