(My two snuggly not feeling so hot miracles)
When Judah was about 6-weeks old I had a friend give me a word of encouragement, “to find the miraculous in the mundane.” In that season I still was relatively fresh off the mission field and a life stateside in our little apartment felt every bit mundane and easy. I decided to try to absorb the word but honestly it has felt like a slow release capsule in my spirit; which is something I love about the Lord and the things He says, it permeates and often remains true throughout your life. As the years have ticked by “mundane” motherhood has turned from easy to at times tortuous, since well, my life is Nothing Like I Expected. (see what I did there)
The monotony of the day in and day out tasks: laundry, diapers, cooking, dishes often have just felt like chores and even the truly miraculous things such as pregnancy and breastfeeding has felt like a burden instead of a gift. When I choose to quiet myself and remember what had been spoken over me and look at life through the lens of gratitude I easily begin to see the miracles. In One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp speaks of how thanksgiving precedes a miracle and she points out how in scripture that time and time again when Jesus preformed a miracle He first stopped to give thanks.
The Jesus story that stands out most to me is the feeding of the 5,000 in Matthew (14:13-21) where it says, “….He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. Everyone ate and was filled.” I think why I love this one the most is I have seen it happen (not to the 5000 extreme) but I have seen there be leftovers at a meal when there should not have been enough. While I was in New Zealand our school split up into teams and a large number of us ended up at a Vineyard Church plant in Queenstown. We all piled into this pastors home and I have a vivid memory of a dinner where there were two casserole dishes of food and 20+ people and when we were finished eating there was still food in the pans. The pastor spoke of this being a normal thing in their home that often when they had more guests than planned for they would give thanks for their meal and God always made it multiply.
(The view from where we stayed in Queenstown, I feel like there isn’t a square inch of New Zealand that isn’t breathtaking!)
(This is one of our meals with the pastors of the Vineyard Church)
So today as I have sat on the couch with my four boys, one is sick, one teething and two who are just along for the ride I find myself pondering the monotony of motherhood my heart is welling up with gratitude. Thankful for the ability to stay home with my man-cubs (thanks Ian for working your tail off!). Thankful for children who long to be held even when there are times when I don’t want to be touched. The list goes on and as it does I become astutely aware of the miracle of time I have been given with these young lives. The miracle of motherhood. The miracle of being able to live a monotonous mundane life raising my sons.
What is your mundane miracle? Are you able to see the miracles around you or are your lenses muddied with dissatisfaction and thanklessness? Have you ever seen a miracle of your own? I would love to hear from you in the comments!!!
