“Drudgery is the touchstone of character.” Oswald Chambers
Oswald Chambers goes on to say, “The great hindrance in spiritual life is that we will look for big things to do. “Jesus took a towel…and began to wash the disciples’ feet.”
I don’t know about you, but sometimes my life seems so “daily”. Now don’t get me wrong, I love schedules and organization. In fact, I would find it difficult to function without them. But sometimes it seems that the things I get to put on my schedule and organize are the same things I put on there last week and the week before. This can be especially true when you have several young children. Do you ever get bogged down in the daily-ness of life? I do. Sometimes I just wish something exciting would happen – but about that time the washer breaks down and I find myself wishing for the “normal” routine of life again.
Children aren’t the only ones who fall victim to the “grass is always greener” syndrome. If I talk with a working mom, often times all she can think about is how much better her life would be if she could just stay home every day. Some stay-at-home moms tend to think they’re missing out on some critical part of their development because they don’t have a career.
Since I’ve had the opportunity to experience both I know they share a lot of common ground.
• They both involve tedious and repetitious tasks
• You often feel unappreciated
• You want to get out more or you want to stay home more – two sides of the same coin.
• Challenging relationships
• Difficult decisions to make
• Difficult situations to work through
“Life is not meant to be lived in a series of mountaintop experiences. Each task we tackle will not bring us a feeling of ultimate satisfaction. Life is meant to be lived in the ‘domain of drudgery’ by the power of God.” Oswald Chambers.
“The tiniest detail in which I obey has all the omnipotent power of the grace of God behind it. If I do my duty, not for duty’s sake, but because I believe God is engineering my circumstances, then at the very point of my obedience the whole superb grace of God is mine through the Atonement.” Oswald Chambers
I’ve found that it is through those small daily things that we learn submission and contentment. The following verse has been a tremendous help to me.
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
I can remember standing and folding diapers as a young mom with three children under five (two in diapers, and we used cloth). I was crying and repeating this verse – saying to myself, “I’m folding these diapers to the glory of God!” After a time I realized that I felt pride when I stood back and looked at a pile of freshly-laundered and folded diapers. They were so white and fresh-looking – I was ready to serve my children! Those moments have stuck with me. To this day I enjoy doing laundry. I think it’s the almost instant gratification – One hour and I have a neatly-folded stack of clean clothes for my family.
What area are you struggling with? Why not commit to doing it “to the glory of God” today and see what a difference it makes.
Finding Joy in the Journey,
Phyllis
Phyllis Sather
Proclaiming God’s Faithfulness at:
http://www.Phyllis-Sather.com
© 2007 Phyllis Sather
Contact me at: Phyllis@Phyllis-Sather.com
Hi Phyllis – This post was packed with things that I needed to hear. Serving, motivation, I guess they were the two main things but they apply to a few areas of my life. So thanks for sharing! I am going to print off your post and ponder it today and over the next week or so and see what God is really saying! thanks for being a part of my journey!
Belinda
I just realized I just spent an hour on the computer catching up on emails, without thinking twice about it, but if I had an hour worth of laundry to fold I would definately be crying about it.
Thank you so much for this post Phyllis.
Tomorrow I will wake up and tackle my chores with a “New Hope” knowing that (and repeating out loud) “I am doing this to the Glory of God!!!”
Again perfect timing.
Praise our Lord and Savior for He is an awesome and sovereign God!!!