Being a Mommy IS my Ministry

Poor, lost, forgotten blog ... I'm back!  Ha! Ha!  Most days, blogging is the last thing on my mind.  Most days it's all I can do to keep going.  The exhaustion of getting up with a newborn every night for 3 months is, well, overwhelming.  But it has really gotten me thinking lately, and thinking leads to thinking some more, which leads to writing.  Hence, this blog post. Because somehow I managed to find a few minutes when the baby is sleeping, the 2 year old is not terrorizing the place, the 9 year old is reading his Bible, and the husband is studying for a sermon.  And the dog, well, I don't care about him.  He's always on my nerves.  But that's another post for another day!

So here I sit with all these thoughts, wondering how in the world I can get them typed out quickly enough.  Ministry... it's what we as Christians are called to do.  Not just those of us specifically "called" to ministry, but each of us who proclaim Christ as Savior.  We are to minister to others around us, share the Gospel, be Jesus to the world.  "How am I doing that?" I often wonder.  Here's the thing: I do it every day with my family.  When I stop to take care of the basic needs of my family, I am ministering to them.  When I listen to the same old (boring to me) wrestling facts my 9 year old tells me for the thousandth time, I am ministering to him.  It's the little things we do that make us as moms "ministers" to our own family.

I've struggled with this for about a year now.  Ever since Aaron and I have "done" ministry, whether it was volunteering in the nursery, teaching youth at our Hispanic campus in Louisville, or being in full time ministry as missionaries, we have always done it together.  (Note: I'm now back after feeding the baby twice, disciplining the 2 & 9 year old, eating lunch, & taking a walk!)  Even last fall when we started the soccer league here in Guatemala, Briggs, Corban, and I were all a part of what happened. We recruited players together, went to practices together, passed out snacks ... all as a family doing ministry together.  But since the birth of Fletcher (now almost 4 months), doing ministry together has seemed almost impossible.  Just ask my friend, Brittney, who visited us last week.  The whole time that we were at soccer last week, Corban cried wanting to go on the field with Aaron.  The ENTIRE time he asked, "can I go on the field with Daddy?  When can I go on the field with Daddy?"  Before Fletcher came along, I had the energy(!) and was able to chase Corban around, but now, I just can't keep up with both of them, making sure they are safe and not into everything.  And so, now, I stay at home with the two littles while Aaron and Briggs go to soccer.  And I'm okay with that.  I have realized that I can be a part of the ministry that God has called us to here in Guatemala by being supportive of my husband and helping him in other ways without physically being at the "spot" where the ministry takes place.  I've realized that my role as a mother is just as important.  How foolish would it be for us to pour all of our time and energy into taking the Gospel to kids in Guatemala without taking it to our own?  So in this season of life that I find myself in right now, being a mommy is my ministry.  Being a praying wife to my husband as he goes out to share the Gospel with kids at soccer practice is my ministry.  Singing "Jesus Loves Me" with my children is my ministry.  Because my current ministry will shape the future ministry of generations to come.  And I'm okay with that!