By Janelle Garret
In Church culture there tends to be this idea that pastors and missionaries are the real heroes; giving their lives away for others and earning their crowns to cast at Christ’s feet. And while it is true that these vocations are holy, the Bible is clear that ANY work we have been called by God to do is holy, if it is done unto Him.
I grew up as a pastor’s kid (well, I still am a pastor’s kid actually), so I’ve seen the ins and outs of how a pastor can be given deferential treatment, treated with contempt, placed as a spectacle, or expected to be perfect; and when he fails everyone is disappointed. And the same would hold true with missionaries. The problem isn’t only that no human being should be idolized or held to unrealistic expectations, but it’s also the idea that certain callings from God are somehow more special or important than others. After all, Paul fixed tents, Peter fished, and Jesus was a carpenter before he started full time ministry. Were these jobs somehow less holy than when they were preaching full time?
Jeremiah 29:11 promises that the plans God has for us are to bless us. He doesn’t say some plans are better than others, or some plans are extra blessed. These plans are to give us a hope and future.
Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for men.”
It doesn’t say only certain jobs are for the Lord, nor does it say that some jobs serve the Lord better.
Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”
The verse says commit whatever you do to the Lord, it does not specify a certain area of ministry for the commitment to be successful.
So why am I harping on this? Because I need the constant reminder that as a stay at home mom, my work is noble. Every time I wipe a runny nose, kiss away a tear, answer the 500th question of the day, feed a crying baby, vacuum a dirty floor, or make another meal, if I’m doing it for the Lord it will be blessed and successful, and it will be leading me to a future of hope. It is easy for me to lose sight of the true and noble calling that motherhood is when I’m faced with the mundane everyday. My father won’t be more blessed than me because his calling is somehow better than mine. My friends who are missionaries won’t somehow be better off in eternity than me.
This truth is not just for me, but for everyone who is working a job that they’ve been called to do. The lowly jobs of this culture, whether it’s simple tent making or carpentry, can be used as an opportunity to point to the one who infuses us with the grace and ability to be able to get the job done. We can’t do it perfectly, but we can point to the only one who ever perfectly accomplished what he set out to do. The road to Calvary meant he would die, yet for us it meant that our redemption would be fully and perfectly accomplished. That’s something worth telling my kids about. And it makes every mundane minute of my day worth something.
Floridian Janelle Garret spends every mundane minute with her little boys Silas (21 months) and Gideon (3 months). Before her job as a stay at home mom, she was a nurse for four years. She received her nursing degree from Adventist Health University. In addition to being a stay at home mom, Janelle also teaches writing, science, and Bible at a homeschool co-op. She blogs regularly at her home church: Redeemer Church at Lake Nona.
Liz Wann 