Good and Faithful Servant

'Well done, good and faithful servant...' - Matthew 25:21

Well done.

Good. Faithful. Servant.

Is that me? This statement has been popping up in my head again and again this past week. It has been on my mind so much that at times I am questioning every task I am doing. From cleaning to cooking dinner to taking my kids places to teaching my kids etc. etc. Am I being good? Am I being faithful? Am I being God's servant? Am I doing these tasks for God's glory, God's will, and God's desire? Am I doing them to further His Kingdom?

Most of the time, probably not. They are duties that just need to be done and I power through and I complete them and look forward to the times of quiet and sleep.

But along with this statement that has been popping up in my head, so has the feeling of emptiness and questioning. Questioning of what I am doing with my life at this time and emptiness of uncertainty that I feel fulfilled and purposeful.  In truth, being a Stay at Home Mom can bring upon these feelings again and again.  

Yes, I have purpose. INCREDIBLE purpose. Raising two little girls is definitely not purposeless. And living for God no matter what I am doing is full of purpose, the only purpose I really need. I know these truths. But I need to reminded of them daily...sometimes hourly. These truths are so important to take the time to dwell on, no matter what our tasks are for that hour, that day, that month, that year.

These mundane tasks can feel so… mundane. So unimportant and at times so 'unfulfilling'. Yet they are tasks that are entirely full of purpose if we complete them in a way that is for God's glory. Yes, wiping down my baseboards and doing load after load of laundry and scrubbing my kitchen is included in that. Tasks that I all too often take as not important and would prefer to just 'lazily' and begrudgingly complete them.

When I look at my day, I often consider what tasks hold priority that day, what tasks really need to get done. (Like a bathroom that hasn't been cleaned in a month…;) ) But is the question I need to be asking first and foremost how can I do my tasks that God has designed for me this day and use my talents in a way that is glorifying to Him? I must think how I can do these 'mundane' tasks in a way that is good and faithful to Him and in a way where I am completely serving Him.

It is so funny. When I started this post I started it to write about how jobs like cleaning won't make God tell me I am 'a good and faithful servant' at the end of my life; How tasks like cleaning don't matter in the large scheme of life and so I should stop 'stressing' about it and focus on more important things. Ha.  Even as I write this post, God is working in me, changing me for His glory. 

No, our houses don't always have to be perfectly clean, nor do our dinners have to be perfectly homemade. Yes, there are days when our houses will be a disaster and we will order pizza because there will be days that God has placed other tasks for our time. But cleaning and cooking ARE tasks that we are given as moms and wives – tasks given to us by our Heavenly Father. While every day they may not take presidence, they DO hold importance. And I do believe that God does hold them as tasks that can further His kingdom if we chose to make them so.  How awesome it can be if we let God speak to us, soften our hearts, and change our every day ways for His glory.