The ministry in the mundane....

I love what I do.  I cannot imagine what else I would do with my life if I wasn't a homemaker full time.  I highly doubt I'd be a very good employee.....my mind certainly wouldn't be on what I was supposed to be doing.

I did not always love what I do.  In the beginning I didn't understand anything deeper than the practical tasks that needed to be done.  At first it was simply the best option for a one car family and no college education.  I couldn't have made any more than daycare would have cost so, what was the point?   It didn't occur to me what my job really was...beyond the obvious cooking, cleaning, laundry and making sure kids were taken care of.  I did not cheerfully keep house, in fact I'm fairly certain that I grumbled my way through.   I was resentful if I had to turn socks right side out or take care of something that someone was certainly more than capable of doing themselves.

I had attitude.  I believed that I was above some things and that "maid was not written on my forehead"......{yes, I actually used that phrase...oy.}.....Humble.....not so much my strong suit.   I was a believer at the time, in thought but not in deed.  Ah, I think perhaps that there was some maturity lacking.....gee, ya think?   Selfless was really not something I understood but if you'd asked me at the time....I probably thought I was Oh SO selfless.

I look back and grieve how often my husband would ask for help in the areas that he knows are not his strength and I blatantly turned him down out of my own arrogance.    So many times he made one simple request....help him by putting together a lunch for him to bring to work.   In my head I only heard my voice yelling about how I had no reason to wake up early and how selfish for him to ask me to give up that sleep, he was perfectly capable of doing it himself...if he weren't so lazy....if....   Unfortunately those things didn't just stay in my head.....and they drowned out Mr's request....not just the words but the struggle behind them....he was tired, it was hard enough to get up in the morning let alone earlier so he could put a lunch together......he wanted to save the money it cost him to purchase a lunch....


Had I been in the Word at that time....I would have learned from Proverbs...

When there are many words, sin is unavoidable, 

but the one who controls his lips is wise.  ~10:19

There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, 

but the tongue of the wise brings healing.   ~12:18

The one who gives an answer before he listens 

- this is foolishness and disgrace for him.  ~18:13

 Conviction.   Ouch...but the Lord started to gradually change my heart many years ago.  The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie O'Martin.   This book changed our lives.  Yes, both mine and Mr's.  My favorite sentence in the whole book is one line out of a prayer....it was the hardest line to pray and it became my favorite prayer:  "Lord, Give my husband a new wife....and let it be me."

The Lord does amazing things through prayer.   Slowly He changed my heart, softened it and made me realize how selfish I'd been.   Gradually my prayer life began to take off.   I began to realize that I didn't have to just pray to God while I was sitting with my hands neatly folded.....I could talk to Him while I folded clothes instead.  I could talk to Him while I did dishes....scrubbed toilets.....floors.....made the bed...    The fly on the wall probably thought that I'd totally lost my marbles....because I wandered around talking to God, out loud.  Oh how He softened me....He turned my mundane tasks into a ministry.   Everything was done while talking to Him.....and everything became more joyful.   I no longer resented the socks rolled in a ball I needed to undo.....{don't get me wrong, it is not my favorite....nor do I jump with glee to pick up undies from the floor}......I learned how to do my job with Joy.   It was amazing to discover what the Joy of the Lord meant.

Gradually I started to do more, I got better at my work and became a much better housekeeper.  Eventually I even worked into my morning routine.....{are you ready?}.....getting up with him to make his breakfast and pack a lunch for him while he showered and gets ready for work.   Still do.  But I do it gladly now....it may seem small and mundane but I know how much it means to him.....this is part of my life's ministry. 

The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.

She does him good not harm all the days of her life.  

~Prov. 31:11-12

Blessings to you, 

the Mrs.