Have you ever wanted to do something or be someone that you are not? Do you ever daydream about being somewhere else than your life currently has you? It has taken me over 30 years to realize that I may never be an astronaut. What is it about being an astronaut that makes a person want to be one? Strapping yourself to a million pounds of rocket fuel and blasting into space to a non-life sustaining environment sounds like insanity, but there is something about it that sounds important and powerful.
In one way or another, we all desire to be important, powerful and successful. At a young age we were told, You can be anything that you set out to become. You have a special purpose. Sometimes, as a mother, it is very hard to see that special purpose through the daily grind of the meals, dishes, laundry and butt wiping. There was a time in my life in which a family member lovingly would call me Chief Butt-wiper. As mothers, we are humbled to a state of servanthood that we, for the most part, willingly subjected ourselves to, but we might not find joy in it. Zacharaiah 4:9-10 says, 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10 For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice,"
Have we not all despised the day of small things? It took Zerubbabel 20 years to rebuild the temple, 20 years of small things in order to do what God called him to do. 1 As mothers of young children, we are in the day of small things-literally and figuratively. When we love our children from infancy, we are laying their foundation of security and self-worth. When we encourage and teach them as they grow, we are building walls that protect their hearts and minds from the hard things of the world. Just as Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple, we are building something that is worth more than power or gold, our child’s life. God is calling us to joy in the days of small things.
As we desire for the power, purpose and success of this world, let us not lose sight of our purpose and worth in the day of small things. God uses these times of small things to make something more powerful and important than we could ever imagine, both within ourselves and our children. Details are so important; like curling your daughter’s hair, giving your son a hug or changing that diaper. It is the small things that will build a person into who they are ultimately going to be.
Am I an astronaut, important and powerful to the world? By no means. I am a mother, that is more powerful than any daydream that I will ever imagine to be. Have joy, dear mama, in your season of small things. Ask God to give you joy in the small things, and he will graciously grant it to you. May you find purpose and meaning in the days of the mundane.
Your worth is immeasurable. You have been bought with a price. You are loved.
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