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A faithful presence of love in the absences of our city.

A New City

a new city

As I sit here writing this my son is currently crying himself to sleep after I spent a solid 30 minutes and 2 separate tries to get him to sleep using all the normal methods, to no avail, and I am sure my husband or I will be back in there soon to try again with potentially similar results. You see, he has been teething and is fighting a cold, which means all bets are off as far as normal routine, especially at nighttime. My normal “perfectly perfected” routine has ceased to matter and I am once again left dealing with a guessing game of decisions as to what will work best to get him to sleep.  Parenthood is often like that, you feel like you know how to handle something…until you don’t. It’s frustrating and oftentimes downright disheartening. I so often feel like a complete and utter failure. As fairly new-to-the-game stay-at-home mom I often feel like I am terrible at my job. It is often so difficult to see any fruit for all of your labor, it is so difficult to feel “fulfilled” in your work. I recognize this may not be true for every stay-at-home parent, but for me that is most definitely the case.

My job before full time stay-at-home mom to a now 1 ½ year old was as a Paramedic and, as much as I hate to admit it, I often reminisce on those as “the good old days,” when I often felt fulfilled by my work. It was a job that was often immediately gratifying in nature, a trait we as humans, I think, often pursue as the end all be all of worth here on earth. How could one not feel “worthy” and “fulfilled” after successfully treating a seriously ill patient and delivering them to the hospital with a second chance at life? How could one not see one’s worth when serving the underserved and hurting people of our city on a regular basis? But the truth is I was no more worthy, or loved or important in the eyes of God as a Paramedic than I am now, as a wife and mother. It is so easy to compare oneself to others and become completely blind to the good work God has set before us, to serve Him and to further his kingdom here on Earth. In the words of Pastor Justin this Sunday, “your work matters.” Never has that been more relevant to me than now.

The truth is, no matter what, I will never be completely fulfilled in what I do here on Earth unless I remember that I am doing it to further God’s kingdom, because that is what we have been made to do. We, as Christians, are made to serve as a foretaste of the New City of God. Our work is central to God’s redemptive work in the world, no matter what it is we do. Through God our work is made fruitful and meaningful and eternal. Through God our work matters.

~ Rachel Whippo