17 Oct On Mission Fields and Motherhood
“You cannot have a heart for the gospel and a fussiness about your life at the same time. You will never make any difference there if you cannot be at peace here. You cannot have a heart for missions if you don’t have one for the people around you. A true love of the gospel overflows and overpowers. It will be in everything you do, however drab, however simple, however repetitive.” ~ Rachel Jankovic
How often do I need to be reminded of this? More than I ought, most assuredly.
The daily grind of motherhood is wearing my edges ragged, more so than usual, and it is a herculean struggle to look up, to seek the gospel rather than hang my head over the sink of dirty dishes I am washing for the eleventeenth time in one day. I wrote about remembering to serve my children, now here is the postscript.
But first.
A STONE OF HELP
Music often tells the stories in our family. There is always a song, a singer, a note that accompanies the moments we treasure. A recurring hymn woven in our tale – sung at weddings, funerals, countless church services, and even a few bedtimes – is Come Thou Fount, written in the 18th century by Robert Robinson. If you are unfamiliar with the lyrics, let me highlight a few key phrases.
Come thou fount of every blessing/Tune my heart to sing Thy grace/Streams of mercy never ceasing/Call for songs of loudest praise/Here I raise my Ebenezer/Hither by Thy help I come.
I sang that lyric a thousand melodic times without ever understanding the depth of meaning. It comes from I Samuel 7, after the Israelites have been delivered from the Philistines. Samuel interceded for the Israelites as they cried out to the Lord. And the Lord answered, confusing the Philistines with a mighty thundering. Then, “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us” (I Samuel 7:12, NKJV).
Ebenezer is, literally, “a stone of help.”
So as a reminder, as an offering of gratitude, I wrote that above my kitchen sink. (What better place to look up then when I am elbows deep in greasy dishwater.) Because when I am ragged and raw over the drab and repetitive moments of my life, I need the gospel most.
MISSION AND MOTHERHOOD
I need to look to the Lord, to rejoice in His strength, and to remember the wonders He has done in my life. I need to raise my stones of help when I am elbows and ankles deep.
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced. Psalm 103:3-5.
When I am ankle deep in cat hair in the corners of my living room, my feet sticking to the kitchen floor.
When the dirty dishes are breeding on my counters and my overflowing laundry baskets have become a sort of sloppy modern art sculpture permanently affixed to my couch.
When my project pile is draped in cobwebs and my sewing machine is lonely.
When I’m on day two of pajamas and haven’t had adult interaction for what feels like years days .
When I get to burrow down in the couch with two babes jockeying for a position and read books ’til my throat gets hoarse.
When they interrupt my laundry folding for snuggles.
When we halt the interminable bedtime routine for a tickle fight. (Because obviously that is the best time to get them all riled up.
When tear streaked faces look back at me and I, I get to shepherd these small ones towards the gospel.
I will look up, I will raise my stones of help time and again in gratitude and obedience to the mission field I’ve chosen.
Would that you look with me, friends.
M.
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