Struggling for Significance

Struggling for Significance.

Have you ever felt that you just don't measure up?

As a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom, I often have times when I question whether what I do on a daily basis has value. I struggle with my identity in a culture where women are not just moms, they are moms and something else. Usually something that also earns them money. Stay-at-home mom's are a dying breed.

When I feel like this I am really searching for significance. Do I matter?

Does anyone care that all the socks match and there's food in the fridge? Do my kids even notice that I spent half my day driving them places? Is there anyone who won't argue with my requests or correction? Does what I do matter?

When I feel like this, it is important to stop my wrong thought processes. Instead of seeing my life through society's filter of success, I need to see it from God's perspective. He sees everything, and so He notices what I do, even when no one else seems to. He loves my children even more than I do, and He cares how they are treated and cared for. To Him they are are immensely valuable. To Him, I have great worth.

But it matters, not so much what I'm doing, for even changing diapers can have eternal significance if I do it with the right attitude. There are some verses in the Bible which specifically talk about this:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-25, NIV)

I need to remember that even though I'm working for the benefit of my husband and children, ultimately I am not working for people's praise, or even my children's gratitude, but to bring honour to God, for He is the one who will ultimately reward me, if not in this life, then in the one to come. I also need to remember that I am blessed to be able to stay at home, and that there are a lot of working moms out there that would rather be in my place.

So if you ever question whether you are significant, know that you are, and that what you are doing is important in God's sight.