Because I Feel Like I'm Just a Glorified Housemaid

I’m not even out of bed before the breakfast demands begin. I half roll, half slide out of my resting spot, and before my feet hit the floor, I smell something musty. I’m pretty sure it’s the laundry that’s overtaken every bedroom in the house, which doesn’t make sense, because I was all caught up last -week- month.

I shuffle my way to the kitchen, fumble around to make my morning coffee, but where our coffee mugs should be resembles Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard, so I rummage through our overloaded, encrusted, kitchen sink for the cleanest of the dirty mugs.

On my way back to the coffee pot I step in mystery goo. It creates a sort of ripping sound with every other step I take. I step-rip-step-rip around, filling cereal bowls and pouring juice into sippy cups, and I notice the clock says 7:35 am.

I take a deep breath and sigh. Is this it? Is this what I was destined to be? A glorified housemaid? And not a very good one at that?

I know this is where I’m supposed to pull out a Bible scripture about “counting it all joy” or “trust in the Lord”, but the truth is, I’m still a glorified housemaid. And I’m still not a very good one.

That’s when the evil thought surfaces… I don’t want to be a mother anymore. I hate that I’ve sacrificed all my dreams to be a mother. I sink under guilt — what Jesus-loving mother thinks such things? Jesus said, “I have come so that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”. Well, spoiler alert, this isn’t abundant living.

So, how do I find abundant life in the mess? In the mundane? In the life I didn’t plan?

I’ve read several self-help books lately; all trying to encourage people to find that abundant and wealthy life. The more books I read, the more I find one common thread throughout all of them. Gratitude.

Brené Brown in her book, The Gifts of Imperfection, writes:

“I always thought that joyful people were grateful people. I mean, why wouldn’t they be? They have all of that goodness to be grateful for. But after collecting stories…Without exception, every person I interviewed who described living a joyful life,…actively practiced gratitude and attributed their joyfulness to their gratitude practice”.

Wallace Wattles in his book, The Science of Getting Rich, dedicates an entire chapter to the practice of gratitude. He writes:

“Many people who order their lives rightly in all other ways are kept in poverty by their lack of gratitude. Having received one gift from God, they cut the wires which connect them with Him by failing to make acknowledgement”.

Melody Beattie in, The New Codependancy, writes:

“Things don’t make us happy. But some things are also gifts. When we’re in the Codependent Zone, we don’t enjoy the gifts we’re given. We’ll sit and obsess about what we don’t have and not appreciate what we have”.

Standing on a hill facing a mob of hungry people, “Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks…” Then he fed those 5000 people {John 6:11}.

There it is. All the things my heart desires:

Joy.

Greatness.

Wealth.

Abundant life.

They all come in the wake of the wave of gratitude. The life I want, desire is the direct result of a lifestyle of thankfulness.

Brené says that it’s not an ‘attitude of gratitude’, but the practice of gratitude, because I can have an attitude of yoga, but unless I practice yoga, I’ll never see the results it brings.

So, how does one practice gratitude? Write sappy posts on Facebook about being thankful for my perfect husband? Or post 1 million pictures of my “little blessings”? That’s a start, I guess. Brené continues with, “keeping gratitude journals, doing daily gratitude meditations or prayers, creating gratitude art, and even stopping during their stressful days to actually say these words out loud: “I am grateful for …”

So I’m going to do it. Will you join me?

Let’s hope for a better tomorrow… but give thanks for today. Let’s dream big, but standing in the messy middle of right now. Let’s appreciate the gifts we have. Let’s stay connected to the one who gives abundant life.

Let’s practice gratitude, and watch our lives become abundant.

Charity blogs the broken and messy pieces of her life at The Wounded Dove. She has four young children who inspire her to be a #GoodEnoughMom. When she’s not wiping sticky children and sticky floors, you’ll find her taking pictures of her sticky children or writing about them.