I am a missionary. Yet, I have never been on a mission.
I live out my mission each day in my home.
Missionary work calls us to give of ourselves to those in need. Some of the neediest ones I have right before me every day. My little ones require food, clean bodies, education, entertainment. They require my attention, my affection, my affirmation, my heart.
I nourish my baby’s body with sustenance that comes from my very being. I feed her tiny body that grows in leaps and bounds every day, a testament to all that God provides. I bathe her following one of those poo-splosions, so that she will not have to feel that disgusting mess on her body. I dance her slim fingers in between mine, helping her discover her own as she intently watches and feels the movement. I kiss her full cheeks until she grins so wide her eyes are merely slits on her precious face. I respond to her giggles, her squeals, looking her right in the eye, as she begs for my attention.
She can do none of these things on her own. She needs someone who will give her what she needs.
It is a noble endeavor to bring the Gospel to those in faraway lands, but there is ample opportunity to carry it to those closest to us. We carry it in our words, our deeds, our actions.
Children are so impressionable. They watch our every move. My daughter imitates the way I spin a spoon in the batter bowl. She runs the comb through her hair, mimicking the way I run it through mine. She learns to wait patiently while I finish reading that last paragraph, as I have waited patiently for her to flip through to the end of her book. She congratulates me on a job well done as I place her dinner in front of her, just as I tell her how proud I am of the tasks she accomplishes. She makes the sign of the Cross across her chest just as she’s watched mommy and daddy do before they pray over the family’s food each night. She repeats, “I’m sorry,” when she has done something wrong, just as I have done each time I have wronged her.
I bring Christ’s Gospel directly into my home as well. I regale my daughter with scenes from the Gospel stories, reading page after page from her children’s Bible. We sing songs telling of Jonah in the whale and that man who built the ark. We march the animals two-by-two into a wooden ark that has been scaled down to an appropriate size for our toy shelf. We color pictures that illustrate the lives of men and women who’ve lived out the Gospel message.
Sure, I would love to go on the adventure of an overseas mission trip, but my life does not allow for that at this time. Instead, I live out a domestic missionary adventure in my own home, caring for those Christ places before me in this season of my life.
Laurel Muff is a baker extraordinaire and an ex-runner, hoping to eliminate that ex. A lover of organization and creativity, you can read more about how she is {unsuccessfully} incorporating these into her life with her beloved husband and lovely daughters at her blog 'Muff'in Dome.
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