Apparently I'm a slow bloomer.
I've been taught all my life to do everything unto the Lord... for the Lord.
The words register. They do. I thought I understood what that meant.
But I guess with growth comes more understanding.
It hit me. Our pastor spoke a profound message on Romans 12:1:
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."
Somehow it hit both Jason and I deeply. He shared it in the context of The Message, which is basically a translation for those that have a difficult time understanding the Bible ("So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him."). The Message version quickly became our year's verse.
It's not just offering your physical body. It's not offering your job. It's not offering your meal. It's viewing everything as his, as HIM. When you do that, all you can imagine is serving HIM. Offering yourself to HIM.
And it clicked.
And the opportunity for constant service began.
It's not about helping at church, helping the needy, etc (although those things are important).
It's about understanding your "mundane" as his. And giving it to him.
For some reason the hardest part of serving for me is cleaning the high chairs.
I used to say that the devil lived in the high chair. Simply because it was at that moment where I allowed my duty, my job, to become a burden. After having cooked a healthy meal, I am now cleaning the crevices of a high chair.
Three to five times a day. Every day.
It's like he was there, dangling pity above me with every stroke of the kitchen rag.
No more.
He doesn't have that power any longer.
The high chairs? They're Jesus' feet.
It may sound crazy, but it's become a joy for me to serve. It's for him. It's unto him. It is him.
To see my duties as the face of Jesus has changed everything. Even though Jesus doesn't have a snotty nose, a dirty diaper, or require chopping and grating. He may not be the dirty toilet or the dusty shelves.
But he is purpose. He has given every bit of your day to you.
Give it back to him with a servant's heart.
Do it gratefully.
And then maybe the little "dog houses" created around your home may not give you anxiety but affirm your servant's heart. :-)