strengthen my hands
Currently I am sitting at the kitchen table singing my lungs out to Frozen’s Let It Go and coloring with my four-year old, three-year old, two-year old, while our fluffy black and white tuxedo kitty girl is mermaiding on the floor. Often when I write, it is under these circumstances and I have to break my concentration to break up a fight or get a sippy cup of water for someone. So this is life. Mother’s Day is next Sunday, which I did not realize until yesterday!
Ministry and love is like this day at the table. Often messy, often complicated, often inconvenient, but so worth it! For all you moms out there, I want to personally bring you a coffee and give you a gold star sticker! I mean it! You are rocking the next generation and have the greatest influence on them as a parent! Keep it up! Run this race and endure it!
I have only been a mom for five years in June. It has been great, but has challenges I did not realize existed! I hear a lot of moms and see trailers for movies with moms who are tired and feel like they are uncool and have lost their identity. I must admit I fall in this trap too! I LOVE my job as a mom and I choose to stay at home, except when counseling a few hours a week. I also have a piece of me that has to tell myself I am still a superstar when I throw away the last dirty diaper, kick my slippers off, and fall in bed before 9 p.m. Keep yourself from falling into the enemy’s lies that you have lost your fun side or make no difference. I tell my boo that sometimes it gets tiring to work hard each day teaching and sacrificing for entitled little people who don’t even have the courtesy to thank me. In other words, they’re not arising and calling me blessed…yet. I hope that comes one day and I hope they know that each day I gave my best.
I read a verse in Nehemiah lately that has made all the difference to me. So much so, that I am working on painting a canvas with the verse on it to remind myself my privileged responsibility God has given me as a mom every.single.day. Let me give the context here. Basically, Nehemiah was told to build a wall around Jerusalem, Judah’s capital city. He has many challenges, people try to discourage him, friends even try to manipulate him. He was not a priest or prophet like many we read about in the Bible. He served in a secular job serving the king of Persia until he led a group of people to Jerusalem and traded his position for hard labor. He led by example and stayed humble, following God. What a guy! What makes a difference in my life each day is Nehemiah 6:3. In chapter six, Nehemiah has built the wall and just has gates left to finish. These guys came to him and asked him to meet with them. He is savvy enough to realize these men were scheming to harm him and distract him from what is important. His answer to them is, “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” They tried four times and he answered with the same response four times.
I am tempted many days to feel like my work is not important and I am insignificant. I feel like asking people to wipe their feet before coming inside, fixing food, changing diapers, cleaning up cheerios off the floor, and mopping the kitchen for the eighth time that day doesn’t amount to much. I feel like asking what my sisters and I often ask, “What has my life become?” In college, I stayed up till 2 a.m. and did cool stuff like cheer on our team, eat pizza in the middle of the night, and hang out all the time. Now, I have enough energy to take me to bath time and use the last bit to throw them in bed. Take heart, my ladies! We have an important job. Funny thing is, it’s the consistent everyday stuff that changes the lives of the littles in our homes. It shapes the way they view their role in life and most importantly, how they view God Himself. WOW! What an impact! Whether you work outside the home or work at home, you are an amazing part of God’s plan for the precious ones He has given you! Let’s remain faithful to God and refuse to be distracted by lies the enemy tells. Even Nehemiah’s friends tried to distract him and sometimes that happens to us, right? Sometimes we see what other people have and it looks better than what we have. We see the way people look and we want that. We see what successes people have and we want that. Let’s stay faithful and enjoy where we are and complete our wall.
If you are not a mom yourself, God has still given you a task where you are that influences your part of the world. Stay committed to the role! Be encouraged that nobody can do your job like you. You are super important, so enjoy the ride! Love you all!
But I prayed, “Now, strengthen my hands.”
Nehemiah 6:9
Love,
Charis
