I have a new appreciation for stay at home mothers. They are my heroes. I am not a stay at home mom, and I don't have children but the last week and a half have opened my eyes to what my future might have in store down the road. I am living at home this month trying to fundraise a little bit more of my monthly income before heading back to campus. This is a hard enough job in itself, really because I'm a chicken and it's the hardest thing for me to do! On top of that though, now that I am home my mom is loving the fact that she has more hands to help her around the house. Now don't get me wrong, I love helping her and I want to pull my weight, but man am I exhausted at the end of the day! The work never ends! There are always loads of laundry to be washed, animals to be fed, carpet to be vacuumed and dishes to be put away. It is inspiring to me that many women wake up to these tasks every day AND take care of their babies. I am inspired because there are some days that all I have wanted to do is complain and believe me, I have. I whine about the mess I just cleaned up and how laundry seems to grow by the minute. Only today have I stopped to think, maybe I'm being prepped for the future. Maybe this is a chance to get a glimpse into the beauty of being a stay at home mother.....
It isn't a glamorous job! No one even knows what gets done! But these are the tasks that must be done every day to keep a house in order and a family clean. These small, simple, tedious tasks are expressions of love.
I'm wondering now if I could be ready to accept this day to day work as my job right now. With all the complaining I've done, I'm thinking I still have a ways to go! I want to gracefully accept all this work and do it out of love for my own family. It's funny thinking about the ways the Lord chooses to bless me with preparation!
So today I'm saying a prayer for all the mothers and wives who do this every day. God bless them for their "yes" to their vocations, and their willingness to serve in all the small and unnoticed ways they do.
So today I'm saying a prayer for all the mothers and wives who do this every day. God bless them for their "yes" to their vocations, and their willingness to serve in all the small and unnoticed ways they do.
It seems that more women would do well to have moments like you have shared here before they enter the vocation of wife and mother. Too many young women get so caught up in the glamor of a wedding, that they forget about the reality, the nitty gritty of the actual vocation. When you said, "No one even knows what gets done!" I could have cried! This is so true! This is probably why there are so few known married Saints, their lives are lived in secret. The virtue goes unnoticed. Their perseverance isn't grand. But, the Lord knows! It's so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMy mom has a sign in her laundry room that says, "Love starts when you sink in his arms, and ends up with your arms in the sink." This is our path to Heaven. :-)