Finding contentment in the small things. It is something I intentionally strive for, but unintentionally completely miss many times. I know how important it is to do the laundry, to clean the house, to cook meals, to wipe a tiny snotty nose. I know it in my brain but it doesn’t always reach my heart. To often I get wrapped up in what is my purpose?! Because my mind says my purpose has to be something really great. Like feeding all the hungry children, or helping a ton of people manage their money, or you fill in the blank. For some reason being a mom doesn’t FEEL like a big huge thing. I tend to take it for granted. I tell myself unintentionally “well there are literally millions of mom’s out there, it’s nothing that special”. A direct lie from satan. Because there are also so many people out there desiring to be a mom. You see satan can easily make what is actually a big calling seem so small in our minds.
Matthew 25:23-“His Lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Renee Swope said in a devotional: “It doesn’t matter how much or how little he’s given to us. What matters is how faithful we are with what we’ve been given.”
You see what I miss in the grand scheme of things is how important the seemingly little things are. Like laundry. Like cleaning the toilet. Like making beds. Like doing dishes. Like getting up and doing it all over again. In the process of doing these little things, I wonder if I was made for something more. I have big dreams, I have goals and at times I feel completely stuck in my duties that I can’t ever achieve them. I get so focused on feeling the need to go after these “BIG” things, I forget about being faithful in the small things. I get grumpy, angry, and anxiety ridden because I don’t have enough time to do it all. I whine about being bogged down by all the things that don’t get me to my goals. I get restless and worry I am missing God’s calling because I am not doing the big things.
I tend to forget that life has so many stages. Today may look different than tomorrow. I know for sure 5 years from today will look different from today. Why would God trust me with my big goals and dreams in a different stage of life if I am not faithful with the stage of life he has given me? Why would God intrust me with more time if I grumble about the time I have? Why would he intrust me more money if I gripe and complain that it isn’t enough to pay off my mortgage as fast as I want?
I am beginning to realize the small things really do matter. They are the building blocks for bigger things. It’s God’s way of assessing if I can handle my big dreams and goals later down the road. Maybe I will achieve some big things later down the road if I am faithful with what he is given me, or maybe I will wait until heaven to be entrusted with the big things. Either way, finding a contentment in everything God has given me, whether big or small is crucial in finding contentment as a whole.
Another thing I am noticing with the small things, is even though they may seem small to me, they don’t go unnoticed by my daughter. She wants to be like mommy. She always has to take her purse when we go shopping. She wants to help with supper, she wants to do laundry, she says what I say, and she mimics many many things. What am I teaching her about these small things in the long run? Am I teaching her to be joyful, or to be grumbly about the things I don’t want to do? I can talk to her all day about something, but the reality of the situation is, more is caught than taught.
So as a I struggle with finding joy in the small things, I remind myself to be faithful with them and I also remind myself that there are two little ears and two little eyes that don’t miss anything. It’s not always easy, but I know if I lean on God’s strength and not my own it is always possible :).
