Monday, June 27, 2011

Motherhood: In Praise of the Pearl Dropper

Motherhood is the toughest job on the planet. We ought to "rise up and call them blessed" a whole lot more than we do. We ought to pray for them a whole lot more than we do.

One of the toughest parts about it is the sense of incessant tedium mixed with futility. If efforts to find the cure for cancer continue to come up empty, at least it's a great pursuit, right?! But another pile of laundry? Another pile of folded clothes that my toddler knocks over because I didn't have time to get it from the floor to his drawer? There is no end to the tedium, and those tedious tasks don't ever seem to accomplish all that much. Three squares and snacks today? Great. Doesn't carry over and take even the smallest bite out of my culinary task tomorrow. Wake up and start at square one (of three) once again.

I once heard Thabiti Anyabwile quote his wife's way of speaking about her daily labors. "It's like dropping pearls on a string...that's not tied."

Well, to all you moms for whom your daily pearl dropping feels like futility and waste, two pieces of advice. First (just for fun), Matthew 7:6 should not be applied here! Second (and seriously), you are and can everyday be a beautiful re:flection of The Great Pearl Dropper who knows what it means to "waste" his grace and labors on ungrateful souls! Keep looking up, you'll find pearls raining down on your ungrateful head, and strength to keep dropping your pearls into the apparent void below. After all, who knows what God is doing down there in the darkness?!

No comments:

Post a Comment