finding god in the everyday

Somehow my job as a wife and mother manages to be both overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time.

The overwhelming parts hit me when I think about everything I need to do. Am I spending enough
time with the kids? How can I meet the needs of three kids who are three
different ages? Am I investing
enough in my marriage? Am I working too much? Should I lead Bible Study next year? Shouldn't I be doing more to reach out to my neighbors? 

The underwhelming parts hit me as I'm washing the dishes – again – wondering what I accomplished that day.  Dishes, cooking, laundry, cleaning, lessons, school, blogging, picking up toys… repeat over and over and over. AND OVER.

Often its not the difficulties in life that gets to me – its the drudgery. There's no gigantic mountain to overcome, no huge mission to focus on… just the everyday everydayness of life.  What we do day after day – folding laundry, wiping noses – despite our knowing in our hearts how important it is, really does seem terribly insignificant sometimes. But God in His infinite wisdom has placed us exactly here, exactly now. As Elisabeth Elliot said, "He assigns and designs according to His inscrutable wisdom – always for our blessing and conformity to the image of Christ."

In the midst of the everyday busyness with young children, its important for us to remember that this is not wasted time. Some days it may seem that we're accomplishing very little. But we're not only are we raising our children and building our marriages. There's so much more than that: we're being conformed to the image of Christ, learning important lessons that will equip us for future ministry. We're learning to serve others,  humility (OH, do we learn humility!), patience, how to encourage others, hospitality and time management. Lessons that will last long after our children leave our homes.

Just the other day I read this in My Utmost for His Highest: "We have the idea that God is going to do some exceptional thing — that he is preparing and equipping us for some extraordinary work in the future. But as we grow in His grace we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now, at this very moment. If we have God's assurance behind us, the most amazing strength becomes ours, and we learn to sing, glorifying Him even in the ordinary days and ways of life."