There are days when I feel like the mundane tasks are suffocating. Cleaning up food thrown from the highchair, mopping up spilled water, picking up toys, washing dishes, wiping tiny hands and a face covered in yogurt. Often it feels like I do the same tasks over and over and over again, with no reward and no recognition.
Now I get it, that is the flesh talking. My sinful and selfish nature wants a pat on the back for all that I do. As moms, we work hard taking care of our homes and our children, and we don’t always get a thank you at the end of the day. But that doesn’t mean the work is not worth it.
I was on a walk the other morning, pushing my happy one year old through the streets of our small town. Instead of listening to a podcast like I normally do, I used that time to talk with God. It had been a struggle to pick up my Bible lately, to talk and hear from the Lord. I’d been blaming him for the hardship and the grief I was experiencing. I knew deep down that He was not my enemy. He is my provider and strength. But my flesh was questioning his goodness.
This day in particular, the mundane chores were catching up to me, and I needed to vent. I told God that I felt misunderstood. He couldn’t possibly understand how tired I was, right? How tired I was of cleaning up the messes. Of doing the same things again and again.
And then it was like he was right there next to me as I was pushing the stroller on the sidewalk. He told me, very lovingly, that he does understand.
Because he cleans up my messes all the time.
I sin over and over and over again. Every day. He is constantly going behind me and tidying up the messes I create. I was reminded on that walk that just as I wipe my baby’s face after he’s dirtied it with food, God wipes away all the guilty stains of my sin. When I am having a breakdown on a random Tuesday because the chores are overwhelming, He picks up my broken pieces. He cleans up the messes I make and the mess that I am.
I know it’s kind of a silly metaphor, but it works for me. Being reminded of Jesus’ sacrifice for me and the gift of undeserved forgiveness shifted my perspective from self pity to repentance. I spent the rest of the day praising Him for his grace and mercy rather than wallowing in annoyance. I’m so glad I chose not to listen to a podcast that morning and chose to hear from the Lord instead.
So mama, if you feel alone in your motherhood or in those mundane, day-to-day tasks, just know that you’re never alone. God is right there with you, and he knows what it’s like. As you wash dishes and wipe baby hands. As you tidy the playroom, again. As you wash and dry and fold all the clothes. As you serve your family with your whole being.
We do all these things because we love our children and our husbands. And we complain because we’re sinners.
from our home 