Washing Dishes

Happy Tuesday, friends!

What a week it's been so far! Luke and I arrived back on campus on Sunday night after a month long break back in Gettysburg. Our winter break was so refreshing and we are very excited to be back in the swing of things here at school. We had a baby appointment on Monday and at 16 weeks, the baby is healthy and active! :) I could listen to that strong heartbeat for hours. Thank you for your prayers for Baby Stoltzfoos and your constant encouragement to us. Classes are off to a great start and it's looking like this will be an excellent semester. :)

My favorite guy on his 1st day of classes

Today I only have one class and chapel on my school schedule, so I have had plenty of time to do some blogging and house work. I actually want to share with you about something that happened to me today while I was doing dishes.

There's this beautiful song called "When the Saints"(by Sara Groves). The lyrics share the accounts of people throughout history who have courageously "lived the faithful life" out of love for God and the people He created. Sara sings about all sorts of people, from Paul and Silas who still praised God in prison, to Mother Teresa, an amazing woman who sacrificed her life to care for the poor and needy, and then all the brave people who rescue hurting women from the horrors of brothels. Listening to this song inspires me to follow Jesus unconditionally and love people fiercely. All I'm saying is... you've got to listen to this song. I can't do it justice by explaining it. :) Click here for the youtube link.

So what does that have to do with me doing dishes? Well to be honest I've been thinking a lot about doing dishes lately. Haha, I realize how strange that sounds but stay with me. Last semester I had a really tough time keeping up with housework as my body worked hard to adjust to the first trimester of pregnancy. I was pretty discouraged about that but I started dreaming over break about allowing a passion to develop in me for serving my husband by growing in my cooking and housekeeping abilities. I wondered if silly to be excited about these tasks… I mean it's just housework and cooking, right?

But today I had the neatest experience when I listened to this song and prepared to wash the dishes. I stepped in front of the sink, pumped some soap on the kitchen sponge, and as I reached for my husband's favorite travel mug a very familiar feeling swept over me. I've had this feeling before when I stepped up to preach a message that helped others experience the practical power of God's word. I've also experienced this same feeling when I've been in the middle of a conversation with a friend and we started to see the Holy Spirit give solutions to things they had been struggling with. It's this confident feeling that God is behind what I am doing and that people will see more of Him through it.

And I got that feeling when I was doing dishes today. When I speak God's word or when I counsel a friend through a discouraging time, I feel alive and I feel so purposeful. I feel like other people are getting to see God's heart… and I love that. He is so good and generous in revealing Himself to us!

You want to know what I decided from all this? I don't think it's a silly thing at all to be excited about doing dishes or dream about taking care of your family and house. Today God reminded me that even the small jobs I'll do as a wife, mom, student, counselor, etc. are so precious to Him.  God loves my husband and my future babies and all the people I come in contact with so much. The cool thing is that it really does glorify Him when, as His child, I show them love, because He loved them first.

Today I felt alive, purposeful, and like I was doing something significant when I washed the dishes, as funny as that sounds. It's such a small task but all our small tasks have eternal value when we do them faithfully in love. Wherever God has you serving right now, whether it's an a church building or in an office chair, whether it's in your high school classes or you're a stay at home mom… you can live a well-lived life now. You don't have to wait for the opportunity to move across the ocean or for your pastoral credentials to come in… just start by doing whatever God has you doing faithfully and out of love for Him and people. 

So thankful for Jesus' grace that makes it possible to live a joyful life… even in the everyday tasks. I think these tasks that can seem mundane are beautiful preparation for the bigger things we'll be entrusted with later on. Just like Mother Teresa, Paul and Silas, and the others mentioned in the song today, I want to be like the Saints who have gone before me… being faithful with the tasks at hand and faithful in deeply loving God and loving people along the way.

Have a great week, everyone! As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Excited to share a great contributor post from my friend Melissa with you a little later this week.

Love,
Bonnie