Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Invisible Mothers


Invisible Mothers...

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or vacuuming, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. I'm the invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to ask, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. Going, going, gone!

One night, a group of us were celebrating the return of a friend from England. I was sitting there, looking around at the others who were all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when my friend turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: '...with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In reading the book, I discovered four life-changing truths: *No one can say who built the great cathedrals- we have no record of their names.

*These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.

*They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

*The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

When I finished the book, I felt the missing piece fall into place. I heard God whisper, 'I see you. I see what you do every day, even when no one else does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

I don't want my child to tell the friend she's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving dinner that her Mom gets up at 5 in the morning, bakes pies; hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table. I just want her to want to come home. If there is anything more for her to say to her friend, I want her to add 'you're gonna love it here.'

We are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world because of invisible women.

27 comments:

KM Wilsher said...

What a great post. . .I mean the writing is honest and pure. Love it!
I am not a mother but this was inspiring!

Prairie Girl said...

I love this. LOVE it!

Thank you for sharing!

Anonymous said...

'Tis so true!!!☺

Charlotte said...

Hi Kat,

Granted we can't see what it is that we are building but we can look at one another and realize that HE that is ME is the same HE that is in YOU and from that starting point, we can and will always and forever be connected.

Heart2Heart said...

Charlotte,

I agree that we can always see that part in one another, because we can continue to spur one another on to bigger and better things.

Thanks for all your comments up to this point! They are all amazing and inspirational.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

Beth Herring said...

I just love to read your writing! You stir my heart and I am so glad that I found your sweet blog!

I understand what you are talking about here. SO much of what we do goes largely unnoticed. But we can rest assured that God sees.

Sea Glass said...

Thanks for the beautiful post. All of us as a mother can positively relate to what you are writing. Happy Thoughts

Elle Bee said...

Kat, this was so inspiring and well-written. I absolutely loved it and every word really resonated with me. I need to bookmark this post and come back to it every couple of weeks. Thanks for this.
Linda

Mich said...

Beautiful post. Something I needed to read. Thanks!

GammySel said...

Words to live by. Often times as mothers we feel over worked and under appreciated.

Praise the Lord He showed me years ago how important it was to bring forth a heritage for His kingdom.

Thank you for reminding this very tired mom...
Angie

Andrea said...

So true! We mom's never know what we are building and our relationships with others are the same way.

On a funnier note, you will be happy to know it is not just kids. The phone rings...I answer...sitka comes and sits in front of me and starts barking....if that doesn't work he paws at me. No, he doesn't need to go potty...he wants my attention.

Blessings and prayers, andrea

Cynthia said...

Very rarely does a post bring me to tears. This one did. Your friend's words were inspired
"'...with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

Thank you for sharing these inspiring thoughts

Kelly said...

This is one of my sister's favorite stories. We've heard this before, it's great!

Loren said...

Kat,

this is one of my favorite stories, thankyou for allowing me to read these touching words today! It is such a precious thing for a mom to hear and be reminded of!

love you

christy rose said...

Oh Kat! This was so great! We are building great cathedrals for no other reason than the love of the build and the vision within our hearts. This was so good! I loved it! Thanks for the quickly beating of my heart at this moment.
Christy

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

That was a wonderful, heartfelt post.

FlowerLady

Jane In The Jungle said...

Oh Kat, thank you so much for posting this....so many days I feel so invisible!!

Love and Hugs!

Amy said...

So true and so beautiful. Thank you for this post.
Blessings,
Amy

Jennifer @ JenniferDukesLee.com said...

Great, great story. I needed to hear that tonight.

RCUBEs said...

As we see God's wonders at work in and through us, we should not lose sight of the greatest wonder of all - our heavenly citizenship.

Glory to God that every sacrifice or hard work we do goes noticed under His loving eyes! Great post sister Kat! God bless.

COUNTRY MOM said...

Kat, What a beautiful as always touching post. This line "I heard God whisper, 'I see you. I see what you do every day, even when no one else does", Touched me so much. Thank You for sharing and for your wonderful and inspiring blog. Blessings, Audrey

Collette@Jesuslovesmums said...

Kat what an encouragement for mothers everywhere! It is so true that God sees what we do but sometimes I have felt like the invisible mother. I have got annoyed about not being appreciated. It is wonderful to know that God sees it all!
Love ya!
Collette xxx

Sue said...

Hi Kat,
This was such a beautiful post to read, I was so touched. I so agree!! I am trying to catch up on my blogging today, as I have been so busy, and as I was reading other posts that you have written, I thought what wonderful writing;then I went to your profile and found that you love writing. I thought"this explains everything." You are so talented in putting your thoughts on paper. What a wonderful gift!
Blessings,
Sue

Rebekah said...

Very great post. You comments about being invisible reminded me of a post I wrote about an alarm system attached to my rear. Everytime I would sit down, the alarm would sound "Mom!"

Billy Coffey said...

Beautiful, Kat. Simply beautiful!

Kat said...

Kat,

This sums up the sentiment of any mother who seeks the heart of God in her day to day job. Well put and well written. A beautiful illustration.

I am tagging you over at my blog, since you have so much time on your hands this week (ha! Just teasing)... Stop by and check it out!

Kat

Crown of Beauty said...

How beautiful this post, Kat!

ANd so true!

How your Father loves you giving you that book just at the time you were beginning to feel so insignificant.

I am sure that that book, or the moment that it was handed to you, opened up a whole new perspective on how you view yourself.

A mother is the glue that keeps the home together.

Thank you for being one great mom. I can truly relate to what you have written.

Love
Lidj