I’m in an intense stage of parenting right now, with four kids under 8 (including a 5-month-old baby). Sleepless nights. Hustling to get out the door for school drop-offs. Constant messes. Never-ending laundry. Sickness cycles. Needs, cries, tantrums, big feelings. Parental exhaustion. No margin for my own quiet reading time or other hobbies. Guilt for not reading enough to my kids. Guilt for allowing too much screen time. Guilt for angry yelling when the kids don’t listen. Guilt upon guilt upon guilt.

It’s hard, parenting.

But it’s also beautiful. Sanctifying. An invitation into grace upon grace upon grace.

In this season of life I’m a sucker for a good parenting movie. I feel seen. When a movie captures the raw intensity and many-layered emotion of being a parent, I’m grateful. Three recent movies that resonated with me as a parent are Hamnet, Omaha, and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. I wrote about them last week for TGC, reflecting on the various ways they capture the pain points of parenthood and reflect contemporary postures toward the joys—and costs—of raising kids.