It's past midnight and I find myself doing my bedtime rounds: fold the laundry, put the last load in the dryer, turn on the dishwasher, last wipe and pick up around the kitchen counter, I grab my water bottle and up the stairs I go, turning in for the night; tomorrow I'll do it all over again...
It seems like there could be little to no joy found in these mundane tasks of the everyday life.
Another dirty diaper to change, changing clothes on a child just minutes after you got them showered and dressed ?! or wiping messes that seem to appear out of nowhere like magic. Why even bother to clean the floor? It's going to get messy again ! Sometimes as I'm doing it I think to myself , didn't I just do this a while ago?
I confess there are days when the mere thought of doing these menial things make me wish I could stay in bed all day but my sense of responsibility doesn't allow me to. I also wrestle with rejoicing throughout these chores that seem repetitive and at times meaningless. I guess the main questions are:
Is God interested in these tasks? and could there be a way to find joy while doing them? .
First of all, the things we mothers do in our home for our families is our service to them and to The Lord. We are servants! God has appointed us to be the deliverers of His love to our children and love in its purest form is demonstrated through service. " As unto the Lord" to me means as if Jesus is the recipient of my service.
Philippians 2 :5-7 We need to have the same attitude Jesus had toward service.
Philippians 2:3 says Do nothing out of selfish ambition
Here are some ways we can exercise servanthood and experience joy at the same time:
- Enjoying a baby's smile while changing a diaper
- Memorizing Scripture or praying while washing dishes
- Listening to a preaching tape or singing along a worship song while folding laundry or mopping the floor.
- Helping a child with homework while cooking
- Listen to a child read to you or read to her while nursing the baby
- Make cleaning a family business, let the children in on the fun
- Reminding yourself: I'm doing this as unto The Lord!
Something that keeps coming to my mind when I'm tempted to grumble about the "new" mess to be cleaned or the fifth time I have to refill a cup of milk, is that God has designed this to make me a servant, to get out of my selfish mode and bring me to a complete surrender of my will. Dying to the right to take a nap when I need it or have "me"time every now and then. I have to chose to die daily to my own desire to have it my way.
But it's not all about sadness or dying to rights, there is joy! . There is joy when I get a smile and an unexpected thank you in return , a hug, or a beautiful painting with MOM written all over it , or fresh picked dandelions,or the good feeling you get at the end of the day when you know that even as inadequate or imperfect you think you are as a mother, your children were taken care of and nurtured by none other than you. Today I was not feeling like myself, maybe coming down with a cold but I stretched myself to be there for my children , we read books, made some crafts, finished school work, watched a movie and cuddled together, I can sleep in peace knowing I did my best to serve them and my Lord.
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