A Mother’s Day Prayer

The Liturgy for Unseen Labors began taking shape on the living room floor early in motherhood. I sat there with two small babies in a dated rental house in a new town, far from the job I’d just left in New York City. I was grateful but exhausted, and beginning to understand that all the exhaustion-producing work would not earn any recognition in a staff meeting or annual review. 

But then, right there on the floor, something hit me. God, if in your presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11), then JOY can be here, even in this. True, deep, exhilarating joy! Joy was not dependent on circumstances but on the Lord’s presence.

Suddenly, any job, whether it was over a kitchen sink or a computer keyboard, could be offered as worship. I prayed to see things differently– to be more captivated by His work all around me than captive to others’ approval or validation. 
In the end, we all just want true joy, and that’s found in His presence.

Prayer excerpts from Every Moment Holy III, available HERE.