TRUE Impact: Faithfulness in the Everyday
by Julie Newman
Everyday people, doing everyday things, nothing glamorous here.
Phyllis Hockin often rose before dawn to get her son to early hockey practices. Marian Robinson made sure her daughter learned to make decisions and take responsibility at an early age. Betty Lou Wark taught her son to never give up on his dreams. Just moms being moms, to the best of their ability.
When our children were small, I said to my husband, “We don’t know who we have here.” I recognized the holy privilege of raising young lives. Every child is gifted for a purpose God has uniquely designed for them. As mothers, we get to be part of the unfolding of His masterpiece in the lives of our children. We get to partner with Him, work alongside Him, watch His kingdom come in the lives of our kids.
Mothering is sacred work, a high calling.
Most days it looks like loads of laundry and carpools and playdates with neighbourhood kids. Like potty training and time outs and bedtime stories. And there, scattered in between, those holy moments, those opportunities to impart life to our children. Those times when Holy Spirit-led words come, and you know the right thing to say. Those times your kids pick up on something beyond what you’re saying with words. Those times a value is communicated, a habit observed. Young eyes are watching. “Who do we have here?” Who will this child be, and what will my influence look like?
Chances are, you’ve never met Phyllis Hockin, but her son, Wayne Gretzky, is a Canadian household name. Very likely, you’ve never crossed paths with Marian Robinson, but you’ve probably heard of her daughter, Michelle Obama. And Betty Lou Wark? She was the mother of Terry Fox, a cancer patient who ran over 5,000 kilometers with one leg to raise funds for cancer research.
“Little is much when God is in it,” says Kittie Suffield’s hymn.
Take, for example, the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with one boy’s lunch. When his mother sent him on his way that morning, lunch in hand, how could she have fathomed the ways God would use this simple meal? It was an everyday act, packing her boy’s lunch. Teaching him to share. It was just the kind of thing you did as a mom. Yet because she did these simple, everyday things, her son not only had a lunch to share, but he thought to share it. His mother’s impact helped feed a multitude.
How much influence can one life have? My life intersects with those in my circle: my husband, my children, family, friends, neighbours, co-workers. Most of the world will never know my name, and I’m okay with that.
Significance does not equate to being well-known or praised. I want to ensure the jobs I’m doing, I’m doing to the best of my ability before God. Faithfulness is what counts.
Living the life God gave me to live with and for my people, in His strength, in His way. “Who do we have here?” Only God knows.
Julie Newman is a wife and mother of two young adult children. She lives near Victoria, BC, where she is actively involved in her church community. A Bible college graduate, she is currently enrolled in the School of Women in Ministry. She is passionate about facilitating authentic connection between women in the body of Christ. A keen observer, she enjoys both telling and writing a good story.