Finding Purpose in the Mundane

In other posts, I have shared my surrender to being a mom, and how fulfilling I have found it to be. That being said, there are times it is hard to be completely content with my role when I see my husband able to do so much more than I can. When I look at others who are past the littles stage (or at least the stage of just littles) and see how much more productive they are, I can inwardly chafe. What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I accomplish what they can? While I seemed to only be able to waddle around very pregnant, keeping an active toddler alive, and doing only the most basic of tasks. And now with a newborn, life is only getting busier! 

There is much that can be said at this stage of life about comparisons and contentment. Someone once said "Comparison is the thief of joy". I can look at others, but I don’t know their exact capacity, ability or circumstances…nor do they know mine. And when I have the right perspective, I can see that this stage, hard as it is at times, is so short and such an amazing privilege! There are days I do not even leave the house, yet I still give the gospel and testify of God’s goodness every day, and rejoice to see my toddler loving God and wanting to pray to Him in his own childlike way. 

This is a stage of not accomplishing great things in the eyes of man. Yet God is using it to teach me contentment, while I serve Him in the seemingly mundane. Colossians 3:23 could have been written to encourage mothers who feel like they’re drowning in diapers and dishes, while others do the “important” tasks. “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;”

My job is to do what God tells me to do. And sometimes that is an opportunity to serve in a more “conventional” way. Other times, it is simply to serve my husband and children quietly, behind-the-scenes. And as I do each task as unto the Lord, I will be able to find joy…even in the mundane!