Proverbs 31:25-30
Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”
I never realized how thankless a job it can be to be a mom/wife until I became one. Funny how that works. It's just like thinking I'd be the most amazing mom who would never (fill in the blank) until I became one.
Yesterday I had planned to go home after work just to change and then meet up with my husband and kids at their football practice. Once I hit I-10, those plans changed as my drive time was almost 2 hours to get home. So I just headed straight to the football field. Practice started at 6; it was already 6:10 and I still had another 10 minutes before I got there when I got a text from my husband asking me to bring bug spray. If you know anything about Houston, you know we have mosquitoes that could probably carry off one of my husband's football players if they really wanted to. We had rain coming in, and anyways the mosquitoes have been insane ever since all the flooding Harvey brought. So I run in to Kroger and grab a couple of bottles of bug spray and continue on to practice. I have never seen a group of coaches and kiddos so happy to see bug spray.
After practice my family stops to eat some dinner, and it's this time I remember that my son has a couple of tests tomorrow for which he needs to study. Anyway, long story short, we go home, boys bathe, we study, I get the boys in bed. I'd love to go to bed then, also, but I have laundry that needs doing. Dogs need feeding. The list goes on. As I am switching over the laundry, I just wonder to myself if my boys will ever realize all that I do for them. They don't realize I stay up late cleaning up after them, washing their clothes and folding them, making their lunches and laying out their clothes, ironing if needed. They don't know I make sure every day that they have a clean pair of football pants and jersey. Or that I spray the heck out of their cleats because they smell so God awful that I thought I'd die. They don't know that I go through their bags at night to make sure I've signed everything I'm supposed to so they don't get in trouble with their teachers. I know they don't appreciate that I have everything ready for them, in a pile for each boy, so that we can just wake up, eat, and get going.
And I got a little down about this. It's hard to work so hard long after everyone else is asleep, and not ever hear a, "Thank you." So as I dumped the clean clothes on the bed containing my sleeping husband and began to fold, I just wondered if I will ever be appreciated. Will my husband ever look at all the mundane, every day tasks I complete and think to himself, "She's amazing."? Will my kids ever think, "Man! I never realized how much mom did for me every day!" Will they think I was good at what I did and that I was a valuable member of our family?
I believe so. It may not be for many years. Maybe not until they are having to juggle their full time job with family and all that comes with it. But I do believe that one day my boys will think of me and smile knowing that Mama did everything she could to give them a good life.
And though my husband doesn't say it often, I know that what I do helps make his life better. And that gives me satisfaction.
So sweet friends, in those moments late at night when you are doubting all that you are doing, or when you are feeling completely defeated, overlooked, unappreciated, don't forget that your Heavenly Father created you for a specific purpose. He sees all that you are doing and will not let it be for nothing. There is NOTHING greater that you can be invested your time and energy in to than your family. They will ALWAYS be worth it.
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