03 Oct The Day of Small Things – and a giveaway!

We have four small (well, small and medium) babes that I stay at home to care for. A lot of days look like an endless hamster wheel built of laundry and dirty dishes and cleaning up rooms and whining sessions and screaming sessions. Throw in some whirlwind closet organizing, and it feels un-doable and oh so overwhelming.

And friends – there are (too many) days where I am more focused on the hard of the mundane, the physical exhaustion, the dishpan hands, and the remarkable number of times in a day that I wipe poop off of something. Too many days I complain, rather than rejoice; wallow, rather than worship.

But then there is this. I love the passage in Zechariah 4 that contains this verse. 

“For who has despised the day of small things?” Zechariah 4:10. 

I immediately flash to my days filled with small things. Dishes. Diapers. Discipline. Then I read further in the passage. The greater context is a vision of rebuilding the temple, of  setting the capstone for the foundation. 

One stone. One small thing.

My day of small things is building a foundation for our wee ones for the rest of their lives.

It is incredibly arrogant of me to dismiss and complain about my day of beginnings as endless repetitions of distasteful tasks. Who am I to determine the tools the Architect of Souls will use to build my babies?

Matthew Henry phrases it this way:

“Note, In God’s work, the day of small things is not to be despised. Though the instruments be weak and unlikely, God often chooses such, by them to bring about great things … Though the beginnings be small, God can make the latter end greatly to increase; a grain of mustard-seed may become a great tree. Let not the dawning light be despised, for it will shine more and more to the perfect day. The day of small things is the day of precious things, and will be the day of great things.

Well, I don’t know how he did that, but he certainly knows me!

“Though the instruments be weak and unlikely.”

For a split second there I thought the foundation-building was dependent on my towering strength of character and shining example of womanhood and those babies were in TROUBLE.

Then, once again, I am reminded of how God coats every moment-every dirty dish, snotty nose, laundry load, nuclear blowout, pee puddle, pitched battle-in a protective layer of grace and uses my imperfect, unlikely attempts at mothering to build these babes up brick by brick.

Look at what he writes at the end ….

A Giveaway

Friends, in our days of small things, in our inauspicious beginnings, some of the bricks we use are formed of words. God’s words to be exact, His words and Word used to build a foundation of truth in the hearts of our babes.

We are so excited to host a giveaway to help you do the same! My friend Courtney DeFeo designed these ABC Scripture cards for the mom’s style and the child’s heart. From two-year-olds to teens, they have given our family the bricks we need to start building.

Each set includes:
• 26 stylish NIV memory cards
• easel for displaying all cards at once
• magnet to focus on just one card
• 5 x 7″ size makes them easy to frame at home

(photo from courtneydefeo.com).

There are three ways to enter –

1. Share this post on your social media channels with the hashtag #missionarymamagiveaway.
2. Leave us a comment below and tell us what bricks you are using to lay the foundation for your small ones.
3. If you haven’t already, subscribe to receive Missionary Mama in your inbox for kindness, encouragement and support.

On Friday, we’ll randomly draw a winner – check back or check your email!

~M.