Who Does It All Without Applause

You are the God who sees me.

MY MOMMA SENT ME A TEXT MESSAGE two nights before Thanksgiving. There were no words, just a photo of a digital ear thermometer that showed 101.2 degrees. It was more than a fever. At that moment, I knew all of our Thanksgiving plans would need to change. Like many families, Jared and I spend the holidays with both sides of our family. This year, we’d planned to spend Thanksgiving Day with Jared’s family and have dinner with my parents on Friday night. There was one more problem.

Momma’s fever didn’t just mean we’d need to postpone the gathering for my side of the family; I had been with my mom only hours before she started showing symptoms of what we learned later was influenza A. I had been exposed and didn’t want to take the virus to Jared’s relatives. So Jared and I decided to stay home and cancel our Thanksgiving plans altogether. A weekend that was supposed to go one way was turning out very differently than we’d expected, but we had made the right decision. Jared woke up on Thanksgiving morning not feeling well, and that meant if my kids were going to have a Thanksgiving meal at all, I’d have to prepare it alone.

While the kids played and Jared slept, I cooked our family a beautiful dinner. Turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce were all on the table that night. I stood alone in the kitchen for five hours, chopping, prepping, washing dishes, stirring sauces, checking casseroles, and timing the turkey.

And do you know what happened when it was time to gather and eat? No congratulations banner dropped from the ceiling, no confetti popped from cannons, and no streamers flew across the kitchen. Jared and I sat with the kids and ate a delicious meal together while taking turns saying all the things we were thankful for that night.

I chuckled to myself later that my kids hadn’t realized how much work it had been for me that day. They wouldn’t understand until they were grown with families of their own just how much effort it had taken for their momma to make that meal alone. Perhaps as they stand in their own kitchens someday, a brief thought will cross their minds: I bet that was a lot of work for Mom.

We don’t do it for the applause, do we, Momma? We do it because we love our kids no matter their ages. We do it because we are the ones who make the memories, create the moments, and care when often no one else does.

My friend, beyond what our children notice, we can be confident that our Father in heaven sees everything we do. One momma named Hagar, the servant of Abram’s wife, Sarai, declared this truth. Pregnant and alone after running away from her mistress, Hagar was sitting in the wilderness when God came and spoke directly to her. She responded, “You are the God who sees me.”

He sees you, too. You aren’t overlooked, abandoned, or forgotten. You are seen, remembered, and loved. And tonight heaven is cheering you on.

Tonight we pray for the momma who does it all without applause. Lord, there are no cheering fans for dishwashing, folding laundry, driving carpool, cooking, cleaning, or holding down a job. She does all this because she loves her family. They are her greatest reward and achievement. They are her greatest responsibility and her greatest joy. Lord, tonight we pray for strength and peace as she rests, takes care of sick children or newborns, or finishes whatever still needs to be done after the children are asleep. We, as a community, are praying for each other tonight and cheering each other on!

We pray in Jesus’s name, amen.

Father, help me hear heaven cheering me on tonight about ___________________ even if the world has not noticed.