Duty in the Midst of Doldrums

The beginning of the school year usually starts out with gusto. I'm excited about a new school year and the kids are always ready to go back at it. November and December bring the holidays and lots of busyness and activities. And then January hits. "Do we have to do school?" is a common complaint. I send the children outdoors, but often they return after a short while, cold and muddy (gotta love that red North Carolina dirt!) Somehow everyone seems more edgy and irritable, and there are days when the bickering and noise make me contemplate sending them off on the big yellow bus (although they know by now that I would never do that!)

In the midst of the noise, crumbs and strewn toys, I know that I must remember my duty to my family. It is easy to fall into the doldrums- to get irritated back, to add to the noise, to feel as dreary as the cloudy winter skies outside. A Puritan prayer from The Valley of Vision encourages me-

Here, it is my duty
to be as Christ in this world,
to do what He would do,
to live as He would live,
to walk in love and meekness;
then would He be known,
then would I have peace in death.

My job as a wife and mother may not seem all that grand to the world at large, yet I have an opportunity to impact the lives of 11 people everyday with my words and actions. God says that whether we eat or drink or whatever we do- changing diapers, sweeping up crumbs, rocking a baby, paying bills, making meals... should all be done to His glory. He is concerned with the every day, nitty gritty, mess of our lives. May my life, and yours, be a reflection of Him to our watching children, to a watching world. Then, and only then, will our duty also be a delight.