 |
| source |
recently, my friend Crystal presented a challenge when she spoke to a room full of moms at a Mama Chiks meeting. "what is your family's mission?" she asked. she encouraged us to be in "mission mode" as opposed to "maintenance mode," as we bring up our little ones.
what is your family's mission? i knew it instantly. our family's mission, without being written out or formally defined as such, is to be the light of the world...to let our light shine before others, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16) i want to raise my children in such a way that wherever they go, people know that they belong to, believe in, and live for Jesus. in a dark, dark world, a dim workplace or dingy classroom, i want the Hall family to shine! not because of who we are, but because of whose we are.
i ran our family's "mission" by my daughter to see if she agreed that this is the unspoken but ultimate goal of our family, and she readily agreed.
lately i've been thinking a lot about this mission and how it works in our life right here, right now. i want to be in Perma-Mission Mode. how can i let my light shine before others? after all, i'm just a Mom with two kids, ages 3 and 7, living in a suburb, running errands, folding laundry, and going to playdates. there must be a way. i won't be caught hiding our lamp under a bowl, waiting for the next season of life, the next opportunity, the next door to open. we have been commissioned, and God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
someone give me a lampstand. there are no excuses for not letting our light shine before others.
i came up with this short list of super simple ways we can be the light:
2. donate, don't sell, outgrown clothing or furnishings.
3. put the toys and books back on the store shelves after my child plays with them.
4. volunteer to give someone a ride.
5. buy the next person's coffee.
6. give half of our watermelon to the soccer team even though i'm not snack mom that week.
7. refrain from complaining to the manager. find the manager and thank him/her for outstanding service.
8. smile at the person at the next gas pump, the Target check-out lady, the recluse neighbor i've never met, the man sitting by himself at the restaurant.
9. let someone go in line ahead of me.
10. tip the teenage Sonic hop.
what is your family's mission? how do you let your light shine before others?
