The 'not so' mundane things in life.

The dictionary describes an epiphany as 'a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience' so it's no surprise that I experienced one today while washing the dinner dishes. To be fair this is usually the time MY mind is "still" enough for God to speak and I actually listen.

In a sense it was relating to something I've always known but never really gave it the importance it deserves but now it will be different. Maybe not on the outside, not to others but to me, on the inside.

What on earth am I rambling incoherently about you ask? Well it's all about my family. My epiphany was all about my family, my children and my job as a mother and wife.

So now you're beginning to ask yourself why I didn't see my family as important, what kind of a person am I? but that's not what I meant above when I said I didn't give it the importance it deserves. My family has always had the number TWO position in my heart after God of course, however, my role in this area was kinda just... overlooked. I was just going through the motions, yes my children need a mother and I've done that to the best of my ability as have I as a wife. Always doing what you're supposed to do, always striving to be that woman from Proverbs 31, sometimes doing what is nowadays seen as old-fashioned even (like staying at home with my kids) but all the while wondering what does God want of me?

One of my favourite verses of the Bible comes from Micah 6:8 and it says "And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." This has been on my heart for the longest time and just now I feel like I'm truly understanding WHY he put it in my heart. \

To truly understand what any of this has to do with my epiphany you must also know that for a long time now I've wanted to somehow minister to new parents and newly married couples, never on my own but with Lalo. Well this kinda came to pass when we facilitated a Marriage Enrichment course through our (then) church. We loved it, got to know other married couples, laughed, cried and prayed and made great friends along the way. Eventually life moved us away from this venture and so my dreams of ministering in this area slipped away.

Fast forward 3yrs or so and Lalo and I finally start a family and God surrounds us with people who witness to us through their own families, marriages and parenting. These years plant seeds that are still fruting to this day, friendships remain strong and the experience of moving away from everything I knew is phenomenal

Fast forward again three years and a second baby later and I'm still feeling like God hasn't divulged to ME where my ministry will be. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the type to stand up and preach (it scares the life out of me in fact) nor do I want the recognition of some big fancy person in leadership. But if I understand correctly God has something for each of us, a mission if you will, a ministry.

Well, FINALLY it has been revealed to me what it is. I know for a fact that some of you (and you know who you are) already know this, eventhough I kinda knew it's not until now that I understand that my ministry is my family. This is the vessel through which God wants me to minister. This (He said as I mundanely scrubbed tomato sauce off the dinner plates) is how others will see me at work. This (He said as I reach for my baby girls' bottle) is where I want you to put all your energies into so others will want what you have. This (He said as I pass my husband in the hall) is where I want you to be your best.

So I guess this is why I'm passionate about the way we raise our kids, I guess this is why I'm passionate about the way we carry ourselves as a married couple, I guess this is why we are strict in the discipline of our children. I guess God had always been saying this in my heart and when I thought I understood I wasn't really embracing the mundane. To Him it was never mundane and I hope that as of now I can see things through HIS eyes. Raising my family in His ways is far from mundane.

Wow... that took longer than I thought. God often speaks in the places where your mind stops and just rests.. the mundane places, the places where you end and He can begin.