Mary's Life Is An Example

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I read this article, "Mary's 'Hidden Life' Is An Example for Mothers," in a Catholic newspaper called The Wanderer years ago, and I decided to laminate the beginning portion of it and put it up on my fridge as a daily reminder to myself that the job of wife/mother/homemaker is a truly worthy one. Our Blessed Mother was a stay-at-home mother, after all, and so I can look to Her as a role model.

And yes, I do like to laminate things, as you may have noticed if you've been reading this blog. I keep a huge package of self-laminating sheets on hand at all times.

But back to the subject at hand: Mary, and the example She sets.  As the Holy Father, JPII, said,  "Mary's example enlightens and encourages the experience of so many women who carry out their daily tasks exclusively in the home...It is a question of a humble, hidden, repetitive effort, [and] seen as a mission of service and love, it is of extraordinary value in the Lord's eyes."

Some days, when I'm exhausted and I feel like I'm performing the same dreary tasks over and over (grocery shopping, folding and putting away load after load of laundry, loading and unloading the dishwasher, scrubbing toilets and showers, cooking, vacuuming, running my car from one end of town to the other like a taxicab--if you work exclusively in the home, you know the drill), I start to feel a wee bit sorry for myself and wonder if anyone even notices or appreciates all that I do. Which is really pathetic, because I know they do, whether they say it or not (and actually, my husband voices his appreciation quite often). But still, I sometimes feel like I'm Cinderella, and everyone else is going to the ball but me! At those times, this clipping reminds me that my "mission of service" to my family is one of great value, and it gives me inspiration to keep carrying out those "humble, hidden, repetitive" tasks with a happy heart, in imitation of Our Blessed Mother.

This clipping is just the intro to a long article, but its words, quoted from Pope John Paul II, resonate with me and make me proud of my job. I wanted to share them with other women who, like me, are sometimes made to feel like they aren't contributing enough to the world by working only in the home. Besides, and most importantly, I thought this was a good time to focus on Mary, as May is a month dedicated to Her.