service and appreciation

Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage."
Mark 10:44 message version

I get a daily Bible verse and story from Alpha Omega (I use their curriculum for homescholing). It has become my daily habit to get a cup of coffee or mello yello, then sit down and read that Bible verse and the story that goes along with it. Today, I got the verse above, only I put it in the message version on here. The story that went along with it went something like this: as a mom to several preschooloers and all the work that went along with it, the thought of being a homeschooling mom for the next 20 years or so was not appealing to her. Then God spoke to her heart and reminded her of the sacrifices He has made for us, and how Jesus sacrificed a lot to come to earth and serve humanity to ultimately save us.

I can SOOOO relate to this. Matt is a pastor and a Bible teacher at a local Christian school. He often gets cards, emails, or small gifts from his congregation or his students that tell him how much they appreciate him. I am very glad he gets those things, and they definately lift him up, sometimes at crucial points when he needs it most. However... this is what I do:

I homeschool 3 kids - Madi,9 and Tyler and Lauren, 5. And I have 2 medical foster kids. "E" is like having a 2 year old in a 4 1/2 year old's body, she requires constant supervision, and lots of my time. "R" is a sweetheart, she will be 16 next week, and can't walk or talk, etc. Although she causes NO stress, she does require lots of work for all of her daily needs. I am a wife, who happens to be the wife of a pastor which brings its own expectations and responsibilities. Being a foster parent we have LOTS of people in and out of our house constantly! In fact, I have a worker that is supposed to be here in 15 min., and here I am sitting in my pajamas writing on here. On average I have about 7 - 8 people that have to make monthly visits to see the foster kids, their rooms, and ask us a dozen questions. Each time they come, they fill out a paper on which they have to document how the kids look, and how the house looks.

Sometimes I throw myself a pity party and think "it's not fair that I do all this work, and no one really notices." I am constantly getting phone calls from foster care people saying, " have you done this yet, or have you done that yet". Never do they call to say "you are doing a good job with these kids, I can tell that you are loving them" My kids give me hugs and kisses every day, and I know that is much more important than cards or affirming words; I know they love me - but they aren't really at an age yet where they "appreciate" me, know what I mean?

Here's my point - sometimes I feel underappreciated, BUT it doesn't really matter. I'm sure that Jesus didn't get many thank you's when He was on earth being our example and salvation, but it was the most important event in history! My hard work may go unnoticed, but that doesn't mean it isn't important. If I want to accomplish anything in life - I want my kids to grow up and love God and serve God. Homeschooling them is an important step in that direction. I also want to give a loving, safe home for kids without one - until God leads me to do something different. And that is important too! So...I don't need to have anymore pity parties when the laundry is sky high and I have a case worker coming to my house that afternoon, or when we are a week behind in homeschool and a weeks worth of doctor's appts to go to. I just need to remember that I am not doing these things for self recognition, but rather because it is what God has called me to do, and because I love my kids, and I love my foster kids and they all deserve to be loved and cared for to the best of my ability. :)

Gotta go get dressed quickly now - caseworker due in 9 min. :)