On a Mission to Do the Dishes

Saying we are “on a mission” sounds so exciting and adventurous. When I think of being on a mission, I think of military, special forces, and other similarly cool people. I don’t often put  myself in that category.  I mean I’m constantly “on a mission” to do something, but it’s not very exciting or adventurous.  It’s definitely not glamorous, and I’m definitely not earning any medals for cleaning cheerios off the floor. I wish.

I’m in a stage of life that stills feels new and makes me feel unsure of what I’m doing a lot of the time – even though I’ve been a mom for over 6 years now. Figuring out how to transition from working full time (lots of 12 hour days) as a teacher and coach to being a stay-at-home mom was difficult 6 years ago. For several months (and off and on over the last 6 years) I really felt like I had lost my mission.  I was passionate about teaching.  I loved my students.  I enjoyed coaching and building relationships with my students.  I was immersed in my ongoing mission to help raise up the next generation to be productive, responsible, and godly adults.  It was and is a big deal.

The current reality of the-day-to-day makes me feel like my mission is to do the dishes – for the one bazillionth time.  It’s the never-ending mission.  I will probably die still trying to complete this mission.  That and the mission to have all of the laundry washed, dried, folded, AND put away! And the floor vacuumed.  And the little people fed. And the closets organized. And the bed made. And….you get the point. If this is my focus…if this is my mission I’ll always be frustrated and aggravated and impatient  because it will never be completed.

But the good news is this:  I’m actually still on the same mission to raise up the next generation to be productive, responsible, godly adults.  It just looks different.  Instead of influencing 100s of lives a little bit, I’m influencing 3 lives tremendously. Right now, I’m their world. Right now, everything I say and do matters more than it ever did. (No pressure.) Right now, while it’s important to have clean dishes to eat on and clean clothes to wear in public, that in and of itself is NOT the mission.  These tasks that I do, are just part of HOW I can accomplish the real mission of raising Christ-followers. What kind of role model am I being for my girls?  Do they see that I have a good work ethic?  Do they see me being kind?  Do they see me acting responsibly?  Do they see me helping others?  Do they see me spending time in God’s Word? Do they see me respecting my husband?  Do they see that relationships are important?  Do they know that I do the things I do because I love them and want the best for them – just like Jesus does? (Ouch.  Just stepped on my own toes.)

Tonight as I was putting my girls to bed, I asked each of them individually what they would like to do with Mommy tomorrow.  The first thing on my 4-year-old’s list was “I want to help you with chores.” (This was followed by a list of other fun things like playing games, going outside, etc…)  Now I could choose to see this as me being too focused on chores during the day, but I choose to see something better. Hopefully, I’ve made chores a fun part of our daily mission to take care of the things God has given us, learn responsibility, and spend time together. (And don’t worry; we’ll also play games and go outside because that’s all part of the mission too!) Because…

if we are completing the tasks without the mission in mind it’s futile, and the tasks become burdensome and meaningless. If we keep the mission in mind it helps to both prioritize the tasks so they don’t consume our day, and it makes them less mundane and more purposeful when we do have to do them.  We are always working toward a goal.  We are always on a mission. Is our mission to do the dishes?  Or something more?