Following God Wholeheartedly When You Feel Unappreciated
A friend sends a message about walls closing in, sick kids, feeling underappreciated, and how in the world she’s going to make it through this never-ending season. I tell her I understand. It’s been a long season in this house, too. In times like these, following God wholeheartedly in the unseen work of life feels grueling.
For me, the calling throughout the past seven months has been to lie on the couch and survive the lingering illness that accompanies my pregnancies. I’ve been called to be still, hydrate, and try to somehow keep pressing on.
Sometimes, the calling of a season feels so much like a quiet kind of death that it’s hard to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Following God Wholeheartedly in Obscurity
It’s not easy to do the quiet, humble, underappreciated work in a cycle that feels like it might never end.
It isn’t easy to write words for only a handful of readers, teach ungrateful students, care for disgruntled clients, or serve cantankerous people for decades.
Following God wholeheartedly isn’t t easy when your boss, husband, or best friend doesn’t say thanks or even realize the work you’re doing when no one is watching.
When making a difference becomes a mere effort to make it through long days, it feels trite to spout one-liners about how our unseen moments are our most important moments.
Following God Wholeheartedly When Your Calling Feels Thankless
I know this only because I’ve experienced it. I’ve been laid low and humbled, and I’ve wrestled with why and listed the lessons learned in the valley, and I’m still here, still in the valley.
I’m wrestling with these thoughts when a Truth strikes me on a snowy April morning: These hard, hidden, humble acts of service matter most because our hearts matter most.
Our hearts matter more than what the world sees on the outside.
Our hearts matter more than the awards on our walls or the plaques on the mantle or even the balance in the bank account.
The Lord is after hearts that are fully committed to him. Until we’re ready to do the hard, humble work, the kind that leaves us feeling underappreciated, without ever receiving the applause of others, we’re not ready for the applause.
The applause will destroy us if we don’t first learn to live for an audience of One in the dark.
The applause will destroy us if we don't first learn to live for an audience of One in the dark. #encouragement #calling #underappreciated Share on XThe Truth for When Your Calling Is Unseen
And so, mother with the teething baby, caretaker who no one ever thanks, friend who is overlooked for the thousandth time, difference-maker who is struggling just to get out of bed and do it all again, let the heart-work happen.
Let today be the day you do the hard and humbling work with a joyful heart. These moments of feeling underappreciated are quiet deaths, and these quiet deaths are shaping you into an image more beautiful than you can imagine.
The heart-work matters most, and these quiet seasons are the seasons that make the biggest difference, if not in the lives of others, then in our own hearts.
When we can do the hard work in unseen places and do it with gratitude, we are transformed. A transformed heart holds the influence to transform the world.
As for me, as the walls inch closer in this beige living room, I open a curtain, take another sip of water, and decide to count it all joy. Hope is floating through the window on the rays of this April sunbeam, and this journey will be worth the effort.
A Free Devotional for the Woman Who Is Feeling Underappreciated
Lastly, I have a gift for you. Would you like to connect with God in ways that breathe fresh life into your weary soul? The Weary Woman’s 20-Day Devotional is my free online devotional to help you connect with God in your worn and weary seasons. You will find 20 daily readings to help you find refreshment in God’s presence. Click here and I’ll send it to your email inbox today!
Calling all moms and daughters—and parents of boys!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 14, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or grandparents to read with the children they care about.
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength is for boys ages 5-13. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to courageously carry God’s love into the world. Written with input from our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven, this book will help the boys you care about find courage and strength in God. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Devotionals for Girls
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
All three books are available in print and eBook form here on Amazon. They are also free on the Kindle Unlimited plan, which you can enjoy with a free three-month trial! These books make great gifts, and you don’t need to be the parent of young children to read them. Share them with your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or the young ones you love.
Learn Why Willpower Doesn’t Work and Experience God’s Deliverance and Healing
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book as a free eBook on Kindle Unlimited or for 12.99 in print right here. (If you do not have Kindle Unlimited, you can try it out with a free three-month trial!) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
