Have you ever had a day where you were busy from morning to evening, and at the end, had absolutely nothing to show for it? Every day, maybe?

One of the most frustrating aspects of motherhood for me is the way my work is constant but often unnoticeable. On a typical day, my husband comes home from work and asks me what I did all day, and I’m not sure what to tell him. I kept the dirt and grime of the house at bay? I made this dinner? I fed and diapered and played with and comforted and read to and disciplined and cleaned up after our daughter? I don’t know how such a full-time job can sound so unproductive, or how I can have nothing tangible to show for it. In fact, if I didn’t tell him what I did, he would find little evidence of it.

But if I stopped doing it all? Everyone would notice.

That’s frustrating.

Before our daughter was born last fall, I worked full-time as a nurse. Every day I gave reports of my work to doctors, patients’ family members, and my coworkers. My patients and their families said that my work made a difference in their lives, and they frequently thanked me for it. When I did a good job, my boss commended me. What I did was noticed as much as what I didn’t do.

Motherhood isn’t like that. My daughter doesn’t say, “Hey Mom, thanks so much for cleaning up the Cheerios I threw up all over myself.” But if I didn’t clean them up, she would definitely let me know her displeasure.

If you’re like me, and you feel the frustration of unseen effort, take heart, my friend. There is One who sees it all: the folded laundry, the kissed boo-boos, and the dishes washed for the thousandth time. He is the One who records our tears on His scroll (Psalm 56:8), the One who counts the sparrows that fall (Matthew 10:29), and the One who knows each hair on our head (Luke 12:7). He knows each faithful act, and He values each one.

Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” What a comfort that is when we feel that our work is useless or unseen!

If today you wish someone would just notice, rest in the knowledge that He does.

Blessings,

Aubrie