A servant heart.

The other day Lucas jokingly said, "Do I get a gold medal for doing the garbage?" And I replied, "If awards were given out for every chore around here, I'd be drowning in them." Yes, I've been known to grumble about my tasks. See, being a mom involves many, many duties that are mundane, never-ending, and virtually thankless. Sometimes I literally feel like crying when I lean down to pick up the same strewn toys for the umpteenth time in one day. Children are nothing if not invasive in my orderly world. But I don't want to get too off track here...

...My point of this post was to talk about some verses I read today, which seemed hand-picked by the Lord to tell me where I'm going wrong... 

“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” Luke 17:7-10

Sometimes I think about the Lord and what He endured down here. Not His death, but His life. If ever there was someone who would have been entitled to grumble, it was Him. He was the King of Kings, and yet He was tirelessly serving a bunch of ingrates. Sometimes people were mean to Him. Hardly anyone listened to Him, unless they were going to get something from Him. He spoke and it bounced right off their denseness. And they most certainly did not bother to thank Him. One leper did, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that was the only instance. (Dad?) No accolades. No awards. No appreciation. And yet He loved them. Out of this immense love sprang service. Tireless, seemingly pointless service. He knew His duty and did it, without complaining or whining. No prayers of disbelief tossed up to His Father. "Really? These people?"


When I think of where He came from and what He did, I can see clearly that I have no right to complain. Yes, I've been given a very large task - raising three little people into semi-normal human beings. But because I know (or strive to know) what He went through down here, I know that His heart is filled with empathy for me. He isn't just idly up in heaven expecting me to do what He hasn't already done. I believe with my whole heart that He is here right beside me, encouraging me in His gentle voice through verses like the ones above. This morning I prayed that there would be a verse in my Bible-reading that would remind me that what I'm doing is not in vain. He heard me.


The servant does what's expected of him because that is what he is: a servant. There is a job to do and he gets it done. So no, there are no rewards or accolades. Not now anyway. Maybe someday in heaven there will be. But that is not why I'm doing it. I'm doing it because it's what's required of me. One day, sometimes one moment, at a time.