Gather and Grow, Mama

Tonight we will talk about the faithful acts of “watering” our families. We will also talk about the beautiful act of gathering together with others to be refreshed as mamas. 

Transcript

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Have you ever considered that even the smallest of things that you do can be done for the glory of God? We're going to talk about that tonight on Midlight. There is a shop where I live in my town where you can go and get a beautiful cup of coffee and sit among plants in a plant store that also has a beautiful coffee bar. And in that store, you will see a woman who owns it, who is tending to the plants, the people, and the store. And it dawned on me when I came in the other day, and I just saw her spending such faithful time watering all those plants in the store. And honestly, before that moment, it hadn't dawned on me how much tending and watering has to happen inside that store to keep all those plants so healthy and happy and thriving. And as soon as you walk in, you can just feel the beauty of these plants. And I realized it didn't just happen, it came because there was a lot of watering happening when I wasn't there to see it. And I couldn't help but see the correlation to motherhood. Because motherhood is just like that. It's a lot of quiet watering. And some of it may feel like to you all you do is water the same plant over and over, or it's the same night feeds, the same laundry. But I'm here to tell you, Mama, that those small repeated acts aren't wasted. They are the watering can in your hand. And faithfulness lives right here in motherhood. And I love the verse from 1 Corinthians 10 and 31 that says, So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Mama, your small acts of faithfulness for your family are this. You are doing it for the glory of God. And something else about my friend's shop is that there's a big sign that says gather and grow. And I love it because it reminds us that us mamas, we actually weren't meant to water alone. First, the Lord allows us to water our families, he provides the water, and we are just called to be obedient with these faithful acts. And then he says, Do not forget to gather together with other ones who are like-minded to you. And he wants us to gather together as mamas because he knows that we draw strength from each other, we encourage one another, we understand that our trials aren't just our own that we're facing, that other mamas face it as well. And one of the things about this shop is you will find little pockets of people talking and visiting. And I just find that so beautiful that we can come into a place and have community for a little bit and share our thoughts, share our woes, share our encouragements with each other, and then go on and continue to water our own individual plants and our own homes. And it makes me think of a story that comes from a book by Brene Brown called Braving the Wilderness. And she's talking about in a village how the women used to gather regularly at the river to wash clothes together, and it was hard physical work, but while they washed, they talked and they laughed and they shared their burdens, they gave advice, and they simply stayed connected. But when washing machines became available and the women started doing laundry alone at home, the rates of depression actually in the village went up, and the machines themselves weren't the problem. The loss of the daily informal gathering was. I think this is a really great picture in our minds of understanding that we were never called by God to live an isolated life. In Hebrews 10, 24 through 25, it says, And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and in all the more as you see the day approaching. Jesus even ties his own presence to the simple act of gathering in his name, even in small groups, when in Matthew 18, 20 he says, For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. And first Thessalonians 5, verse 11 says, Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. You see, mamas, there's a time for all things. There's a time to water your plants at home, and there's a time to gather together and get refreshment from spending time with other mamas. And I actually hesitated to share this thought originally because I know that some mamas have a really hard time getting out of the house and having community outside of their homes, but like we talked about the other day, I think it's so good for us as mamas to not be alone, to not be isolated, and to water our plants, and also go and join with other mamas who are watering their plants and get together and share our experiences and then go home refilled and do it again because we get to be faithful in those little daily tasks that God has given us. Mamas, I know that when I spend time with other mamas and we can laugh and join together and have a cup of coffee and our kids can play together or we can just sit with our babies, there is a strange refilling that happens inside of my own soul. And I realize that I leave there stronger than I got there in the time of fellowship. So, mamas, I encourage you to gather and grow. I encourage you to continue to faithfully water the plants that God has given you, just like my friend does. Because even though no one is seeing all that watering, our job is the quiet showing up of the watering. And God is the one who will cause the growth. God is the one who will create the fruit in its season. And we can rest in that, that it's not our job to create the fruit, it's not our job to cause things to grow. Our job is the faithful daily care and watering of the little ones that He has given us. The last thing I want to leave you with is the understanding of joy in this part of the journey of motherhood. It's easy to get bogged down with the mundane tasks of life as a mother. But what a switch it would be if we were to focus on the watering and the daily tasks with joy in our heart. You see, when I walk into my friend's plant shop, she always turns around with a smile. And she's genuine with it. She's happy to see you, she's happy to be among her plants, she's happy to make the coffee for you. And there's a different feeling being in a space with someone who's taking care of the watering while also exhibiting joy. So, mamas, I ask you tonight to remember how important it is to hold on to that joy while you're doing the daily tasks of your motherhood. Everyone around you will feel the difference. So tonight, mamas, I want to leave you with a blessing from number six, twenty four-twenty-six. May the Lord bless you and keep you, make his face to shine upon you, be gracious unto you, and give you peace. Amen. Until next time, mamas, remember to gather and grow and water daily with joy. We will talk again soon, mamas. Take care.