How not to lose sight of your importance in God's kingdom if you are a stay-at-home mom!

After a few years of being a stay-at-home-mom I hit an all time low. You see, what I did not realize is that joblessness (or in my case motherhood) attacks our confidence and self-esteem, it isolates us and presents a temptation to isolate ourselves even more and worse…it can trigger our worst behaviors, causing us to lash out at those around us. Sound familiar? It can also cause us to doubt God’s involvement and interest in our daily lives and at worst, even make us to doubt His very existence. It did all that to me and I have a hunch that I am not the only mom that walked this destructive path. 

So what are we to do in a moment of utter isolation and unimportance? What if we feel so insignificant that we don’t know our place in God’s kingdom anymore?

I have asked God this very question and here is what he said…he reminded me of the Olympic Closing Ceremony. I recently watched it. Now, I don’t know if you’ve seen it but if you haven’t, perhaps you have seen another closing ceremony of a big event such as the Soccer World Cup. These are not just simple concerts, these are productions of a rather giant magnitude. They take months to prepare if not years and someone is in charge directing it all. There are hundreds or thousands of performers and each of them have an exact place assigned to them, providing us with a beautiful story to watch as it unfolds. Children are part of it too, but usually somewhat limited to sitting around and singing. The more experienced you are the more involved your part in the performance will be. I doubt that any of the performers spend much time during the show envying the part of another performer. They know they are part of something BIG. They know they are needed wherever they have been placed. Yes there are some artist that get more camera attention than others, but it is only temporary and center stage is reserved for a few, because the pressure there is huge. Perhaps you can see where I am going with this. 

Olympic ceremony in Vancouver 2010 courtesy of www.morguefile.com

Here’s what I felt God saying to me…put Jesus in the center stage of your life and KNOW that you are part of God’s beautifully orchestrated “closing ceremony” in this world! There are thousands of us and we each have an exact place assigned to us, so what you are doing right now is probably exactly what you should be doing, but if you are in doubt…then just take some time to pray and ask our Heavenly Father (I’m sure you guessed He’s the Director) and let Him tell you what He wants you to do. Please do not be discouraged if your part seems rather small and do not waste time envying others for theirs, for each performer is equally important in the whole performance. I have spent far too much time envying others around me…the efficient “working mom”…the “perfect mom” (or so she seemed!)…the kind mom (I wasn’t always so kind)…the better looking mom (I could use some work in that department too)…until I finally realized, that I am just the mom God wants me to be. I am not as perfect as I want to be, but I am grateful that Jesus knows my weaknesses and He loves me anyway. He knows my struggles with bad habits such as impatience, insecurity and fears, but he keeps patiently working on me as any good coach would and slowly but surely my “performance” is getting better. Sometimes I still make a mess. Now, if you are a mom, then you know that it takes more than 2 minutes to change a messy nappy, especially if your baby is not playing the part and wriggling around with the strength of a “Mini-Goliath”, but we can learn from those rather graphic moments in life…that sometimes we too must be still and patient and let God sort out the messes in our lives and make us fit to go again! Nothing is insignificant to God and whatever your “job” is at the moment – you are significant to Him! You can’t do my “job” and I can’t do yours, but the “Director” is watching us and He loves us more than I can tell you! So, know that you are important and...

...HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

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