Last Updated on April 8, 2018
So I have this really effective ministry: God has called me to live in such a way that other people, especially parents, feel better about themselves.
I just have to tell you that I rock at my ministry. Seriously. Each day I seem to get better at it. Sometimes for a brief second I think maybe God is giving me a different focus … but then almost immediately I realize, “Nope, this is my calling.” Today I realized that I’m particularly equipped—or ill-equipped—to do this well—or not well, depending on how you look at it!
Just to prove my point, I’ll give you some examples of my ministry successes.
- When my little girls are wearing mismatched clothes, socks, or shoes (on purpose), other moms smile, nod, and feel a bit better about their clothing battles. After all, it appears that I lost my battles but in reality I didn’t fight them—as long as they are clean, I’m cool.
- When my children are often five minutes late because it’s difficult to be in three or more places at once—it’s got to make someone feel great about being on time.
- When my children are getting out of the car and papers, hairbrushes, water bottles, and various odds and ends fall out behind them, someone has to think, At least my car doesn’t look like a giant purse!
- When my yard looks like I’m raising the Beverly Hillbillies minus the oil money—my neighbors must cringe, but their yards look great in comparison.
- When my youngest daughter is used as a sermon example not once but twice—other parents just gotta think Thankfully my child doesn’t say stuff like that!
It’s funny (kinda). I used to be that parent—the one with the well-behaved kids, a beautiful lawn and a life pretty much in order and on time. But God allowed all that to change—my children are still well-behaved for the most part, but now I have two precious little girls who challenge all my previously-attained parenting wisdom. I used to have a well-manicured, weed-free lawn, but then the lawn caretaker (a.k.a. husband/father) left and I decided it was better to work on keeping my family weed-free in the spiritual and emotional sense. So now the yard is clover green, which my girls think is just beautiful because the weeds have flowers! Life used to be what I expected it to be until suddenly it wasn’t.
Thankfully God works miracles even through me and my difficult circumstances.
And I’m up for however God wants to use me—whether it’s words that encourage or a life that blesses through its brokenness.
God can take all our goofiness and messiness and bless us and bless others. We just have to be willing to laugh a little, smile a little, and accept a few funny looks!
