Important

This week I have soothed a crying baby, oh I don't know maybe a hundred times.  I have changed about 50 diapars.  I have done 10 loads of laundry. Well I have done them half way, as I never fold the clothes.  I take them out of the dryer and make a huge clean laundry pile.  But thats besides the point.  I have settled several sibbling squables. It felt like several hundred.  I have made dinner.  I have bought dinner at Del Taco.  I could go on. 

But the point is, I do the same sorts of things every week, every month, every year.  It is all rather routine, rather mundane. Sometimes I get frustrated with it all.  I have friends who are doing great things with their lives; missionaries to Africa and such.  And frankly, I am a little jealous. I want to do something important. 
I wonder if Mary ever felt that way.  I wonder if she was ever rocking a crying Baby Jesus thinking of all the things she couldn't do with a baby in tow. I wonder if she wiped the tears from his eyes when he skinned his knee and thought, "this is so not a big deal, I could be out saving the world."  Did the mother of our Savior ever feel her job was unimportant?  I hope not.
And so I am humbled.  Not that my children are perfect, or that I am as blessed as Mary, but I am humbled because God has given me the opportunity to raise world-changers. I know there are many great men and women who would not be so great if they did not have a mother to love and teach them, to care for and admonish them.
Next time I have to settle a dispute between siblings, I will remember that perhaps I am raising foreign ambassadors or diplomats.  Next time I am trying for the millionth time to teach my five year old his alphabet, I will remember that maybe I am raising a great scholar.  Next time I have a conversation with my 8 year old about faith, I will remember that I may be raising a great theologian.  Next time I have to rock my crying baby instead of taking part in an adult discussion, I will remember that one day my baby will grow up, and know that he is loved, and have the courage to change the world.