I See You, MomMuestra

I Recognize the Work 

I was convinced as a teenager that my mom was somehow a mutant with supernatural powers. She was phenomenal. She would teach middle schoolers with severe disabilities all day, come home, cook dinner, help three teenagers with homework, and run a house all by herself. Right? Freak of nature. 

And those were just the things that I could see. Now that I’m a mom, I understand so much more about what she did when we were young and self-absorbed. And she did it without any thought to credit or accolade. There was no Pinterest board or Instagram account to prove her success in raising three kids. No one ever saw, shared, or commented on her life, encouraging her forward, and yet, she persisted, creating a powerful, rippling effect.

In John 6, thousands of people had poured out of the city to come and hear Jesus speak and be healed. Jesus took pity on them and asked the disciples to feed them. They had nothing but a small boy’s lunch—five loaves and two fish. Jesus took it, blessed it, broke it and fed the thousands, leaving enough for twelve baskets of leftovers. The people said, “this is it, this is the Savior we’ve been waiting for!”

But what if it was a mother who made that boy’s lunch? Did she wake up late and barely have time to shove food in a sack and send him out? Was it the day before payday and she was scraping together what little she had left? Did she get up early and write a note on the outside of the bag? Traditionally, women made the bread and prepared the meals, but we don’t know for sure what unsung hero packed the lunch that day. But what we do know is that Jesus blessed the mundane, overlooked chore, multiplied it, and used it to shine a light on the Savior of the world.

Do you feel unseen? God sees you and He is, “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” He is working right now in the midst of your motherhood. 

To the foster mom who never knows her effect on the children who come through her home. To the mom who surrendered her child to a loving adoptive family. To the working mom who never misses a ball game. To the mom who walks through the grocery store with spit-up running down her back, God says, "I recognize the work. No one, not even you, will understand the amount of impact your motherhood will have on the world. But, every lunch you make may feed thousands. Every boo-boo you kiss may create a cure for disease. Every midnight phone call may lead thousands to know Jesus one day." 

It’s because of my mom, these words are reaching you today. Mom, I see you. And… Look, look what you did. 

Prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, bless every load of laundry we fold, every phone we ground, every sock we pick up off the floor. Bless them just like you blessed the meal of the small boy with five loaves and two fishes, break them, multiply these blessings, use them to further your kingdom, and may you receive all the honor and glory, Amen.