Recognition

"Congratulations, Tabitha! You did it!  You surmounted unbelievable odds!  You achieved the award you have been desiring for so long!..." Yeah.  If you are like me, this is NOT what you heard today.  Instead, my home was full of the sounds of whining, crying, fighting, and if you listened close enough, the occasional giggle-or even an "I love you." There was also the joy of multiple dirty diapers, one of which caused me to have to clean the carpet-the lovely effects of an antibiotic on a one-year-old's sensitive stomach. So, when I unexpectedly received my very first "Virtuous Woman" magazine from my beloved Thirty-One, and read all of the promotions and recognitions various women around the country received for excellent work, it got my mind to thinking... 

I would LOVE to be the "best" in my company, or in something, anything!  I would LOVE to have someone come up to me and say they hoped to achieve what I had achieved one day.  The glory and glamor of having MY name and picture in the magazine!!  Yes. For a few brief moments I thought of how wonderful that would be.  And then I realized where my magazine, as well as thousands of others would soon be-the trash.  The only people who would probably save them are those who were featured in it.  Is THAT what I truly desire for my life??  That's what my hopes and dreams are wrapped up in?  Actually, no.  Sure, it would be great to achieve some great things in my direct sales adventure, but WHY am I in sales in the first place?  It is NOT to be superior to all others-it is to be a true helpmeet to my dearest best friend, my husband.  Any commissions or monies I make are going to help pay off our student loan debt and move us closer to being in full-time Christian service.  And, as those who are in Christian service will tell you-it is FULL of glamor and glory, right??  As I write that, a giggle rises up in me.  No.  My glory will come when (in this lifetime), my blessed children rise up to serve their God and Father in whatever capacity the Lord has for them.  What an amazing blessing to watch one's children serve the Lord!!  My future, eternal glory will come when I finally meet my Savior face-to-face, and He welcomes me into eternity with Him.  If He tells me, "Well done," well, that would be glory beyond all measure, honestly! 

So, now that I have revealed the pride that loves to rise up in my heart, I will go back to the home that has toys and mess all over it.  While my children nap, I will quickly try to clean up, so that when they wake up, they can mess it up all over again.  I will not moan over the nausea that gets me all throughout the day, or the fatigue that encourages me to think maybe I should just put my head down on the computer desk.  I will thank my Heavenly Father for blessing me with three (and one more cooking!) wonderful children who I have the awesome privilege and responsibility to raise-and yes, clean up after.  And, in some small way, I will know that my Heavenly Father sees my little bits of faithfulness, and "recognizes" them.  Because, after all, when YOUR kids clean up and obey-you notice, right?