The Gang's All Here

Every time I sit down for a meal with my children I am engulfed by a scene reminiscent of a rowdy banquet in the halls of Valhalla. Complete with barbarians eating with their hands, course jokes, and the pounding of fists on the table. This family is loud. I owe it to the patriarch of the brood with his booming voice and broad shoulders. This man might hail from the South, but he's got Norseman in his blood.

People join us in our feasting and celebrations and leave with ears ringing and heart fluttering wondering how we ever carry on a conversation. Its not always this way, but these kids brought together in one living room, take up the floor and couches, and enjoy being smack dab in the middle of all the excitement. There are no quiet dinners in our house.

Still, I get in these doldrums sometimes in thinking my own thoughts and speaking with other women and I start wondering what more I could be doing out there. My life seems so small, my footprint just a speck. There are multitudes of other women out there thinking the same things. Does my life matter? Who am I? What am I doing with my life? Am I just a mom?

And therein lies the answer...just. We see just as a bad thing and fail to see what that definition even means. In a sense, by defining ourselves in this matter, we are living small. Paul has a word to say on the matter:

2 Corinthians 6:11-13 Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!

Being a momma isn't a small thing. But thinking that is small thinking. When you begin to look at the work that you do as meaningful and life changing, as motherhood is, you realize how grand and wondrous it truly can be! What greater work can there be?