CHAPTER 15

Enjoy the Journey

My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.

—Mark Twain

In the early years of World War II, a young woman named Helen tapped out a column of numbers on an adding machine. Double-checking the figures she’d entered, she made sure they were correct. Then she totaled them up and reminded herself one more time why she was doing this:

It was her way of helping the troops.

Eight hours a day, five days a week, months turned into years as she kept entering and adding… entering and adding. The numbers somehow pertained to aircrafts being built to support the war. So in theory, Helen knew she was contributing to a noble cause. But surrounded by an office full of other typists doing the same job, she also felt these three things:

Her work didn’t seem very important.

Nobody was ever going to appreciate her for doing it.

And it wasn’t any fun.

These insights were not unique. Helen’s co-workers had caught onto them too. During coffee breaks and at lunch, they grumbled about the drudgery of their days. They pined aloud for more exciting opportunities and greater rewards. Then they trudged back to their desks and accomplished just enough to keep from getting fired.

Helen, however, chose a different approach. She decided to turn the mind-numbing task of typing numbers by the thousands into a game. Keeping track of her own speed and accuracy, each day she tried to beat what she’d accomplished the day before. She found ways to work faster and with fewer errors. She congratulated herself, celebrated her progress, and acted every day as if, by doing her job well, she could single-handedly win the entire war.

In the process, she started to enjoy herself.

She also got noticed and promoted. Which was great, but it hadn’t necessarily been her goal. What Helen had set out to do was enjoy her life, every day, no matter her circumstances.

Eventually, the war ended and she married and became a mom, but she hung onto her determination. When her husband took a job that kept him out of town for long stretches of time, she transformed his absences into an adventure. She made a game out of coming up with unexpected things for her kids to do while he was gone. “Instead of eating dinner at the table tonight, let’s have an indoor picnic!” she’d say as she spread a quilt on the living room floor. Or, “I know it’s a school night, but let’s go to a movie!”

When assigning her children chores to do, she subtly passed her attitude along to them. “If you can finish your work in an hour and do it right,” she’d say, “we’ll celebrate afterward.”

“What will we do?” they’d ask. “How will we celebrate?”

She’d answer with a sly smile, knowing the mystery would add to the fun. “Just trust me. You’ll see!”

Helen’s children are grown now. They have children and grandchildren of their own. But they still revel in the memories their mom created when they were kids. They still cherish this as one of the most precious legacies she left them:

She showed them how to enjoy the ordinary moments of everyday life.

Cereal Bowls, Scrambled Eggs, and Eternal Rewards

I appreciate just how important a legacy like Helen’s can be. I’ve had enough experience to know that for the most part, life happens in ordinary moments. Joy and fulfillment are either gained or lost by how we approach the small, seemingly mundane tasks of day-to-day life. That’s why, as I close this book, I want to leave you with this challenge: Enjoy the journey of motherhood.

That’s why, as I close this book, I want to leave you with this challenge: Enjoy the journey of motherhood.

Some experts would counsel me not to say this. They claim it’s unrealistic to tell women to enjoy the entire experience of motherhood. Pointing out that no one in their right mind takes delight in dealing with a teething baby or gets a kick out of scrubbing crayon marks off the walls, they warn that suggesting mothers should somehow enjoy it all puts undue pressure on them.

I realize there’s an element of truth to this. And I’d never want you to feel guilty about the times you might have a tough day or get a bit discouraged. But I also believe there’s a scriptural perspective that can make even mundane, repetitive tasks more satisfying. There are some things you can remember that will perk you up when the daily challenges of being a mom try to drag you down.

The first one is this: Jesus Himself notices and appreciates everything you do for your family. He attributes eternal significance to things like rinsing out cereal bowls, folding bath towels, and mopping floors that within a matter of hours will be dirty again. God always rewards faithfulness and the effort you make to serve Him with gladness.

During His life on Earth, Jesus devoted some of His most precious moments to such simple chores. In the hours before His crucifixion, for instance, He spent time washing His disciples’ feet. He also made sure they didn’t miss the message behind it. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you (John 13:14-15 NLT).

A few days after His resurrection, He did the same kind of thing again. With only a short while left to spend with His disciples, He took time one morning to make breakfast for them (see John 21:9.) Think of it: Jesus, the resurrected King of Kings and Lord of Lords, cooking breakfast! I have to say that I absolutely love this example!!

Since He never wasted His time doing the unimportant, if Jesus washed feet and cooked meals, it was because those things matter—a lot. As a mom, you’ll enjoy your life more if you’ll keep this in mind. Remind yourself, when you’re up to your elbows in dishwater or scrambling yet another skillet full of eggs, or under the kitchen table trying to wipe up spilled milk while trying to dodge all the feet around your head, that you’re not just serving your family, you’re pleasing Jesus. You are showing love to them the way He does, and you’re doing exactly what He wants you to do. Love is not merely theory, or a word that we use, but it is action manifested in practical and beneficial ways.

Because you may not get much appreciation for it from those around you, here’s another thing you should keep in mind: With every act of loving service, you’re stacking up eternal rewards. Society may not applaud you and much of your work may go unnoticed, but according to the Bible, God keeps track of everything you do. So—

Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men, knowing [with all certainty] that… you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward. [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah).

Colossians 3:23-24

The last thing I encourage you to remember is this: Jesus came so that you can… have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows) (John 10:10). So take Him up on His offer. If anybody knows how to celebrate the ordinary moments of life, Jesus does. He’s the One who turned the water into wine at the wedding of Cana to keep the party going. He’s the One behind all the feasts and celebrations the Israelites enjoyed for thousands of years.

So ask Him to show you how to make everyday life more fun—for you and your children. Let Him teach you, like He taught a young woman during WWII, how to enjoy the journey of life so much that you can pass your joy along to future generations.

“Can I be confident He’ll do that for me?” you might ask.

Absolutely!