I don’t know if you’re like me but sometimes I wonder if all of this stuff I do each day really makes a hill of beans in the long run.
The mundane is so . . . well, mundane.
And while my house is always spirited and you never know what might happen on a day-to-day basis, there’s always this piece of me that wonders if I’m missing out on something else I should be doing. Something that’s just for me. Something that will add more to our 401k or allow us to sock more away in the 529 plans or even just give us some extra wiggle room to give more.
As I load the high-maintenance, needy laundry yet again (it always needs something to be done, doesn’t it? Wash. Dry. Fold. Put away. Geesh.), I know deep in my heart what I’m doing does make a huge hill of beans. I know when I’m being duped into believing a lie even when I’m starting to be convinced.
Today’s mundane is tomorrow’s legacy. The stuff we do day-in and day-out has a value that could never pay us enough. There is no 401k or 529 plan that could be greater or any trip to Disney that could outweigh the tasks we do to serve our families.
It’s true the mundane often goes unnoticed. It’s the quiet shush of a mama praying with her son who’s had a nightmare. The soft “try again” for a child struggling with homework. It’s the loading up and letting out of carpool and the planning, preparing and cleaning up it takes to nourish a family.
Mundane is quiet. It’s humble. It doesn’t shout from a corner “Hey! Look at me! I’m awesome!” but rather sits silently, contributing more than we know until suddenly it isn’t there anymore.
And ironically, our hearts will long for the mundane when the mundane is no longer needed. When the kids are gone and the nest is empty and the house is finally clean and we’ll do laundry once a week.
There will still be traces of its quietness, but much less than what we have now.It’s gentle spirit will be but a ghost.
So if you’re like me and wondering if what you do matters, remember this: you’re gonna miss this someday. And yes . . . yes this quiet mundane matters. Big time.
For you are building a family. The next generation.
And there’s nothing this world needs more than future leaders who have been loved well.
Keep loving through the mundane, sister. Because it matters. More than you know.
Thank you for this, I needed it this morning! :)
I need this reminder daily, Christine! :)
Amen! My thoughts exactly! :) Beautifully expressed, Natalie!
Thanks, friend! I appreciate you reading and commenting!!! :)