Does what I do matter?

Mid-week miracles – your weekly encouragement for daily life – how has God shown up this week?

I sighed deeply and looked out the bedroom window. My husband was pushing my daughters on the swing and they all were laughing. I was stuck inside quarantining away from everyone. My husband and my parents had been taking care of everything while I was stuck sick in quarantine. They did everything so wonderfully and I am so deeply grateful. As the days drug on and on, I began to lose focus on my goals and my purpose. I began to question every aspect of my life, questioning if my normal daily activities were of significance, making a difference in the world. I was stuck in a rut. Can you relate?

When you are staying at home to raise your kids and you feel forgotten or insignificant, like nothing you do makes a difference, God sees you.

When you work at a job that is not fulfilling and you wonder if you even matter, God sees you.

When you are sick at home quarantining all alone and the world is still going on, passing you by, God sees you.

Do you ever feel that what you do in your day to day life doesn’t seem significant? Doesn’t seem like you have a purpose or meaning?

As I sat in quarantine, I pondered these questions and it got me thinking about what I view as significant and meaningful. After feeling down on myself for a bit, I came to realize through prayer and reading God’s Word that even the little things I don’t think matter can really make a difference in God’s kingdom. When I am at home doing never ending laundry for the 5000th day in a row (or so it seems), that is actually serving my family and making a big difference. I mean, it would probably be frowned upon if we went out in public without clothes. When I sit at work and wonder if all the typing in spreadsheets is making a difference in the world, I can know I am helping keep the business running smoothly so the other employees can help people sleep better and therefore have a better quality of life.

Side note: Don’t compare yourself and what you are doing to other people, especially what you see on social media! That is a whole separate post, but know what you are made to do is different than someone else and neither one is any less important than the other. Okay, back to the main point for today.

“Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.” Psalms 37:5

I can do everyday things faithfully and that might be God’s plan for me that day. God sees you in every moment, big or small. Don’t feel forgotten because what you do matters (and I’m not just saying that as a cliche!) Will you look for Him in each moment of the day?

Mid week miracles

God is all around us in big and little ways. Do we notice? As I’ve been down with Covid the past 11 days, I’ve had to really search for God and His encouragement. But you know what? God has been there every step of the way for me and I just have to look for Him. He shows up.

God has placed on my heart to write each week encouragement and real life stories about how we can see God in our day to day lives. I would love for you to follow along so we can all be encouraged by God this year, looking towards Him instead of all the negativity in our world. Even with the difficulties and craziness we are experiencing, God is with us. I would love to hear your stories and prayer requests so I can pray for you each week.

It’s a new year, and many people often look at setting goals or resolutions for themselves. The beginning of the year usually brings hope, but what happens when that hope is dashed? We already screwed up on our resolutions or something happened to make us realize we will have sorrow in 2022 also.

I started the new year not with hope, but with anxiety. The Christmas break got my sleep all out of whack (and then Covid didn’t help the sleep either) and lack of sleep was making me anxious. “What is wrong with me?” I kept thinking. I was in this cycle a few days when I finally stopped and listened to what God had to tell me. He simply told me to be still. “Really, God? That’s it?” But I stopped ruminating on my anxiety and got still and focused on God. When I did, He poured into me peace and wisdom. He let me know nothing was wrong with me, I had just make an idol out of sleep and I needed to focus on Him instead. God had been there all along, but I was focused on problems rather than on Him and missed what He was saying to me.

“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.” Psalms 37:7 NLT

“Surrender your anxiety. Be still and realize that I am God. I am God above all the nations, and I am exalted throughout the whole earth.” Psalms 46:10 TPT

My sleep didn’t immediately get better that day when I had my aha moment with God, but my anxiety over it lessened and I stepped back into my life. What is stopping you from hearing what God has to say? Is something an idol in your life like sleep was for me?