Reflections on Strength, Vulnerability, and Community Support

Parenthood—and life—rarely unfolds the way we expect.

Whether we are raising children or not, we all experience complexity, messiness, and insecurity in our relationship with ourselves, others, and God. Though for parents, the exhaustion of sleepless nights, the weight of providing for a family, and the loneliness of navigating “mom culture” come as unique challenges. 

With these challenges bringing us to the end of ourselves, we all feel the temptation to hide our true selves, struggles, and insecurities. Simultaneously, it can be challenging to find a welcoming community to share our raw struggles with.

How can we cultivate honest and vulnerable friendships that will receive our whole selves and hardships with nonjudgmental company, encouragement, and prayer? And how does God desire to meet us in these pain points?

In this episode, host Jay Y. Kim sits down with Kathy Tuan-MacLean (PhD, Northwestern), spiritual director, mother of three, and co-author of the Bible study Moms at the Well. As the national faculty ministry director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, she draws from over three decades of experience in guiding students and faculty in spiritual formation.

Together, they explore the isolating challenges of motherhood, the judgment that often pervades “mom culture,” and the silent weight of shame many women carry alone. Tuan-MacLean encourages us to locate the everyday “wells” of community and creative spiritual practices that open us up to experience God personally and alongside others. They also discuss simple practices, like breath prayers and silence, that can help us take “little sips” from God’s living water.

If you feel exhausted, unseen, or stretched beyond your limits, this conversation will help you notice and believe that God hears you, sees you, and desires to meet you right where you are.

This episode highlights the following themes:

• The paradox of strength becoming a barrier to experiencing God's grace
• Experiencing God uniquely in motherhood and marriage
• The importance of intentional community in spiritual sustainability

Links from this episode: 

• Learn more about Kathy Tuan-MacLean
• Read Kath Tuan-MacLean’s Bible study, Moms at the Well
• Read the transcript here

God is present; do we notice him? As the world gets louder, listening to God’s voice becomes increasingly challenging. We are bombarded by the chaos of our feeds, by distractions both inside and out, and by the everyday cacophony that drowns out the calm of a life lived in close communion with God. In this season of The Digital Examen, pastor, and author Jay Y. Kim guides us toward reorienting our lives so that we can notice God with the entirety of our beings—heart, soul, mind, strength—in both the mundane and majestic moments of everyday life. 

Learn more about The Digital Examen

Learn more about your host, Jay Y. Kim

Read Analog Church and Analog Christian by Jay Y. Kim

Listen to Meditations from The Digital Examen

Download a Guide to The Examen.

Links and Credits

✅ Special offer: Visit ivpress.com and use the code IVPOD25 for 25% off any IVP resource mentioned in this episode.

✅ Consulting Producer: Helen Lee

✅ Producers: Christine Pelliccio Melo and Travis Albritton

✅ Production Assistant: Jack Reece

✅ Sound Engineering: Honest Podcasts

✅ Social Media Managers: Allie Noble and Makayla Payne

✅ Podcast Art: Kate Lillard and Elsbette San Blas

✅ Theme Song: "For They Will Inherit the Earth" by Stephen Keech

Disclaimer: The comments, views, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and/or the guests featured on the podcast and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of InterVarsity Press or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.