Difficult Chores

I've been thinking about those jobs that everyone has to do now and then, that they really don't want to do.

I hated cleaning the toilet, when I was a little girl. My mother demanded a perfect job, too. But if I did it without complaining, she would smile at me. I would do a lot for that smile!

In my line of work called motherhood, you just cannot avoid disgusting jobs. I have often thought I have a career in body wastes! Okay, okay, so that wasn't funny. But if you have twenty-six children, just think for a moment. They all start out in diapers. No big deal. But thirteen of my children remained incontinent all their lives. Whether from paralysis, or brain damage, the result is the same. Mom, down on her knees again!

A mother gets no recognition for cleaning horrid things. No raise in pay, no award, no ceremony. Not even retirement benefits! It truly takes a lot to disgust me, after all these years. But there are times I feel like Moses, or others who tried to avoid a job God meant them to do.

* The LORD has sent me to do all these things and it was not my idea. Numbers 16:28

* O Lord, please send someone else to do it. Exodus 4:13

One thing has encouraged me through all these years. That is realizing that every good thing I do, in mothering children with disabilities, including the jobs I wish I did not have, is done for God.

* Serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 10:12

Yes Father, I will do my best.

It is all about His own very special children, after all. It is the career He gave me. He prepared me from nine years old, and called me. He put the great yearning in me for children, and brought me the desires of my heart. Most of mothering is wonderful. But I'm deeply grateful that in the middle of even the most menial chore, I am always aware in my heart, that my Heavenly Father is pleased with me.

* Serve the Lord with gladness. Psalm 100:2

Father, I did not know you would ask THIS of me! With GLADNESS?

His parental smile warms me through and through.

* The LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. Deuteronomy 15:10

Oh, Father, I'm honored. This makes it much easier.

* The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you... Do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8

Well, Father, this makes me humble. Having You with me is an extraordinary blessing, through any chore. Thank you for your encouragement.

* Be strong and courageous... do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

I often think seriously about working with filth. It is not a curse, but a blessing. I think of Mother Teresa, who worked with much worse filth than I ever will, with such pure love and willingness. Nothing makes me realize so well, what a gift it is, that God has given me these lowly chores. What a true gift it is to do any chore at all, for my Heavenly Father. I long for an attitude like hers, and that is a goal I work toward.