This month with Hearts at Home, I’m blogging about “Loving Your Purpose”.  This has always been a challenge for me – usually because I didn’t know WHAT my purpose was, and sometimes because I just didn’t want to love what I was doing.

Wiping other people’s body parts, washing dishes, switching laundry, begging for a nap…where is my purpose in this?  I’ve had these thoughts too often to count.  The problem, I think, is that having these thoughts affect my mood and behavior.  If there isn’t a purpose in what I’m doing then I won’t be pleasant while I’m doing them.

What’s my purpose in changing diapers?  Hygiene, but also building trust.  My babies know that they can trust me to keep them clean.

What’s my purpose in washing clothes?  Again, hygiene, but again, building trust.  My family know that they can trust me to provide clean clothes for them to wear.  They don’t go to work and school looking dirty.  I suppose they might sometimes, but that’s their fault for getting messy in the morning 

What’s my purpose in breaking up ANOTHER fight?  I’m teaching my children how to build relationships and resolve conflicts.  And I’m deepening the notion that our home is peaceful.

All of the things that I do, over and over, and over, (and over), I need to do on purpose.  Each task has a reason behind it, to provide for my family, to show that they can trust me, to be faithful to God because He has been faithful.

Now that my kids are older, my purpose has begun to shift.  Sometimes I’m more of a mentor – listening, encouraging, “tweaking” (which means giving advice in a way that an 11-year-old doesn’t hear it as criticism), teaching them how to be good friends rather than telling them what to do.  My purpose seems bigger and more challenging in this phase, and also so much more fruitful.  These little people I’m responsible for can have conversations with me now and discuss their problems.  It’s such an amazing and scary and new challenge.

You have an incredible purpose.  You are CONSTANTLY reinforcing to your child(ren) what your relationship with them is.  That you can be trusted at all times in all things.

You’re doing a great job, momma.