A WASTED LIFE

As we were driving to church last Sunday morning, my 18-year-old commented: "You know, Mom, a lot of people would say you wasted your life, just staying home and taking care of all us kids. You could've done a lot of other really important things besides just being a Mom."

Sometimes your kids say things that hit you right in the heart, actually knock the wind out of you. "Nate, what on earth could I have done that would have been more important?"

Twenty-two+ years into this mothering endeavor, I can ask that question. With integrity. With confidence. Because I know the answer: Nothing.

I didn't always have this confidence. Years ago, struggling to simply survive a "normal" day with six children, ages 7 and under, I often wondered, "Why am I doing this?!" I envied peers who had interesting jobs and nice wardrobes, friends who were impacting the world with the Gospel, women who had a larger identity than diaper-changer/milk-machine, people who could carry on intelligent conversations with other adults about current events.

My son's question was providentially timed. In our Sunday school class that morning, we were talking about adoption, the roll of the church/believers in adoption and the opportunity adoption provides for Kingdom work. And, again, I considered, Is there anything more significant I can do than invest in the life of a child? Looking back over 20-something years of parenting, considering the seven eternal souls God has blessed me to mother....could I have done anything more important with my life? Nothing.