Mom's as builders! (A story for us mom's!)

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of
response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on
the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking,
'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone,
or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner,
because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie
this? Can you open this??

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a
human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?'
I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held
books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa
cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be
seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!?

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating
the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a
fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I
was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well.
It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty
pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package,
and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of
Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read
her inscription:'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of
what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book.
And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing
truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the
great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their
whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great
sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by
their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came
to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman
carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the
man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that
will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it. And the workman
replied, 'Because God sees.'


I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into
place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you,
Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around
you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on,
no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are
building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will
become.

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But
it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease
of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong,
stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great
builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never
see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The
writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be
built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to
that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to
tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom
gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes
a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.'
That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to
want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend,
to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'


As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot
be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that
the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty
that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.


Great Job, MOM!

I had to share this with all of you! My wonderful Aunt Ann shared it with me! I cried! Its such a touching story and once again reminds me of why God chose me to be a Mommy! Not for the glory, the praise, or anything else, but for Him! Its all for His glory and His praises! God sees everything I do and He knows my every thought! Even though I forget that most days! I will do better knowing and remembering this life isn't about me at all its about my God, my Savior, and my Lord! When that is what my focus is every moment, then I become a better, wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister and God's unconditional love is brought forth instead of my selfish ways. I hope this touches you like it touched me! Thanks so much Aunt Ann for sharing this with me!