In the Everyday

I am tired.  I am maybe more tired than I’ve ever been. I let the words tumble around numbly in my brain.  I’m not sure I’m referring to physical exhaustion, but rather the exhaustion that occurs when life meets the intricate balance of chaotic and mundane.

It seems that way sometimes, doesn’t it?  We find ourselves on the hamster wheel as each day greets us with complete chaos while also offering nothing different from the day before, and before, and before… 

And it is in these seasons that we can quickly fall victim to the poison of the mundane.  

We feel alone.

We feel unseen.

We feel unappreciated. 

We feel like we might not ever be enough.

It seeps in and overtakes the perfectly glorious moments of everyday life until the routine overtakes us, and we are simply living in a blur.  Wake up, get dressed, duties of the day, pick up, practices, homework, supper, dishes, laundry, bathtime, bedtime, more laundry, bathtime, bedtime, and a million other things in between.  And then we wake up and do it all over again.  

“Momma?” He flops himself on the couch, and his voice breaks through the madness of my mind.  “What’s that smell?”

I’ve provided a million answers to a million questions in the last two hours, and I don’t have an answer to this one. “I’m not sure, Bud.”

“Smells like a momma who does a lot of laundry, and man am I grateful! I don’t know what we’d do without you!”  

Suddenly, I am snapped right into this moment. 

I am seen.

I am appreciated.

And for this moment, I am more than enough.

Listen to me, Momma.  Don’t overlook the glory of these fleeting seasons.  Don’t fall into the rut of routine.  Don’t miss the chance to see the holy work you are doing in the repetitiveness of everyday.  Listen for the quiet whispers in the moments when perhaps all you want to do is scream.  

You are seen.

You are appreciated.

And you are enough.

If you are tired.  If the exhaustion has set in.  If the routine is threatening to overcome you– please remember that the tedious toil matters, Momma. And you are a hero in your home. Keep going.