Numbering Our Days in Motherhood

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

What emotion does the word mundane elicit for you? It literally means “lacking interest or excitement, dull.” It is a word that I became familiar with when my girls were little…some 20 years ago. I remember hearing and leaning on phrases like “find the beauty in the mundane” and “there is ministry in the mundane”. Quite honestly the mundane was tough when I was in the throes of it…washing dishes and changing diapers when they were tiny, then carpooling and packing lunches as they got older….You would think that I would have embraced every dull moment with joy after years of infertility. But I am human just like you and needed reminding and encouragement. I am so grateful that I read books, listened to mentors and leaned into the Word of God to help me get through and even embrace some of the mundane.

Here lately though, it has hit me in a new way. I find myself driving carpool again, something I haven’t done in over 2 years since my youngest began driving. You see, I am helping my next door neighbor get her kids to and from school one day a week because she is in the fight of her life against metastatic breast cancer. The kids are school age. Several times lately, and especially yesterday, it hit me how much I just know that my friend would love a dose of what may have been “mundane” for her just a few months ago.

We know this right? We know that these times come to an end. The kids grow up, start tying their own shoes, making their own lunches, and start driving…a time comes when they no longer need us in these ways…Have you heard, “the days are long, but the years are short”? Me too. And I have tried to keep that in the forefront of my mind while raising my girls.

But, do we ever stop to imagine that these times could come to an end due to a sickness, a tragedy, a loss? It’s not the most uplifting thing to imagine or think about, but this is a reality for many and I’ve been chewing on this a lot lately. I want to encourage you today to embrace the moments…the mundane…no matter how old your children are…even if they are adults…the calls, the texts, the quick dinners…young or old, embrace the moments that may lack excitement but do not lack profoundness…we just really never do know when they may come to an end. Learning to actually “number our days” should lead to wisdom! Now excuse me while I go grab coffee and “puzzle” with my 18 year old. And please be praying for my neighbor Tracy!

-Jennifer