There’s so many hats that we wear and often it can be overwhelming trying to keep up with all we’re trying to do. But I feel the Lord is returning joy to your soul. A deep well of joy. Not just surface level happiness, but as you continue to serve Him in your home — raising your children, doing the dishes, folding the laundry, cooking another meal, doing the school run, getting your family to church, wiping down the bathroom, cleaning up another accident — the joy of the Lord is going to come upon you. No longer will we see these as mundane tasks but as worship, as a sweet fragrance we are releasing to Heaven.
That is what I believe the Lord wants to impart to you in your mothering right now. A new revelation of how what you are doing is anything but mundane (even though it feels that way), rather it is your life on mission of making disciples, of feeding His sheep, your life on mission for Him.
You may have thought to yourself, ‘I’m just a busy mum of toddlers, how can God use me.’ I wanted to remind you today, sweet mumma, that is exactly how God is using you. The great commission, to ‘go into all the world and make disciples…’ begins in our homes. One of the highest callings and greatest privilege is that we disciple those God has entrusted into our care — our children. There is nothing mundane about that!
Six years ago, I was vacuuming my floors with my new baby (who didn’t want to be put down to sleep) strapped to me, and I grumbled to God something about this being all there was — wasn’t motherhood meant to be more? And to be honest, I didn’t fully know what the ‘more’ was that I was after. But I remember Him speaking to me, ‘this is worship.’ And my perspective shifted.
No, the chores didn’t automatically become fun, but I had a new sense of joy in my soul that this was part of my ‘work’ that I am doing unto Him. That keeping house, raising our children, doing the dishes, the laundry and all the seemingly mundane tasks that I had been internally complaining about, were all actually an act of worship. This is one way that I can honour the Lord — working my calling of wife, mother, homemaker, disciple maker, daughter of God.
Proverbs 31:13 says that she delights in the work of her hands. May we have the joy of the Lord and a deep understanding of His plans and purposes for our life and our children’s lives, as well teach them and model to them a life following Jesus.
With this new understanding comes new wisdom, new revelation. God is so beautiful and kind that He is constantly unravelling this tapestry of His story and Him working in and through us. I want to share with you one of my favourite verses. Proverbs 24:3-4, ‘By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established, through knowledge’s rooms are filled with rare and beautiful riches.’
This may be a random verse, but a couple of years ago I started praying for more wisdom, because I don’t know about you, but being a mum in the world today, I need more wisdom. Wisdom for decisions we make, how to raise our children, things we do or don’t do, let alone wisdom in business, wisdom with relationships, wisdom with our finances. I’ve made it my quest to seek out wisdom. I found this verse, and find it so fascinating that it is by wisdom we build our houses. As homemakers, whether you’re a stay at home mother or working out of the home, we are called to build our home and maintain it.
We, as the mother, set the atmosphere of our homes. This is important to know, and can be a good thing. If we let the Lord fill us with abounding joy, from His deep well — that is going to be the atmosphere in our home. And may it be such a beautiful thing! That even when life seems mundane, the tasks ahead in your day seem overwhelming or something unexpected does happen — we can rely on the joy of the Lord as our strength.
My prayer is that we, as mothers, will continually acquire knowledge and skills from other women and mothers who have gone before us, and also find ourselves in the Word: growing in our faith so we are constantly having that as a foundation for our homes.
Be blessed, sweet mumma, and remember: you are doing a wonderful job!
Love & blessings,