In between “Mama, I want a snack” and baby squeals, with fists pounding on the high chair, I check my numbers online. How many views today on the blog? Did anyone comment on my Facebook post? Any new bloggers out there click the like button? Does anyone read this stuff besides my parents?
These thoughts seem innocent, but I know at times they come from a heart desiring notice and recognition for myself. I’m often baffled by this strong desire to be known and be seen. Maybe it’s because the role I play as a mom is a hidden one. My main ministry is confined to four walls. I don’t get a paycheck, time off, a promotion, or a raise like my husband. I don’t always get immediate results from my efforts, unless you want to count a shiny toilet and children clothed and fed as an accomplishment (trust me, it is).
This is not to say moms can’t work outside the home in various measures and get a paycheck somewhere, but the main role God calls us to as wives and mothers is our home and family. God made women to bear and nurture life and men to provide for and protect the lives of women and children. The heart disposition in these matters manifests itself in where our priorities lie.
The calling God places on women often seems like a hidden role compared to the men around us. And yet we are still equal before God in dignity and value…
Read more at desiringGod.org >>
Liz Wann 
Exactly true. I was raised to believe in those same values. Being a mother offers no immediate appreciation, however I’ve seen that long term rewards present themselves through the character and moral values present in adult children. 😊 Good luck with your little ones and know that other mothers and God value the quiet but powerful work you do “behind the scenes”.
Thanks! Appreciate the positive words. You’re right about the long term rewards, that is a helpful perspective too. Sometimes it just takes longer than the amount of patience we might have. 😉
Love this post! I so often feel the same way. Many of our dreams and passions we had prior to being mommies we must be laid at the altar of motherhood. I think when we get older and our kids are grown up, we will not regret any of these sacrifices we made for the sake of our ministry to our kids!
Much needed encouragment! I am constantly laying aside my “desires to be known” to remind myself of Christ’s servanthood example. Man it’s hard! On the one hand, the longing to know Him and make Him known – this passionate desire to write about Him and encourage others and know you made a difference. And then, on the other hand, the knowledge that there is always too much of me wrapped up in there. Arg! Anyways, it’s so encouraging when someone else says the things that are on your own heart. xo
Thanks so much! Glad you found it encouraging. I like what you said about there being too much of us wrapped into things. So true! Thankfully, because of Christ God still accepts our measly efforts at serving, pleasing, and honoring him and others.
Motherhood nowadays seems to play second fiddle to career in today’s secular society. This is totally the reverse of what God’s values and calling are. I was a stay at home Mom for many years when my children were little and then a half day worker at a school when they went to school. I will never regret the time I spent with them nor long for the things of the world that I didn’t have. My greatest joy is that all three of my children are now following Christ as adults and the married ones chose Christian partners. My grandchildren are beng brought up in God’s truths. What more could a woman desire? Keep at it all of you who are still in the throws of runny noses, piles of dishes and constant exhaustion. What you are doing is the most valuable use of your time at present.
You are so right about all of this! Thanks for the encouragement to us young moms. 🙂 I know I won’t regret any of this either.