I recently came across an excellent article by Susan Hunt entitled “A Woman’s Seasons.” In this article, Hunt — now a grandmother — shares about her different seasons of raising her three children to her current season of mentoring younger women. Hunt’s perspective on parenting and mentoring come very timely for me. I believe it is very common for someone like me who is so entrenched in the ever-exhausting work of caring for four little ones to think “When will this be over?” or “This too shall pass.” Rather than thinking this way, Hunt encourages us to value each season of life to glorify God:

A woman’s life is not about just enduring diapers and the terrible twos, or the empty-nest, or a room in a nursing home. It is about valuing each season of life as an opportunity to honor the King of kings. It is about drinking deeply of grace and then reflecting that grace to others.

The heart of her article is that as much as we may want to get over the stage of nursing, diapering, potty training, disciplining, etc, we should not bemoan these tasks. Rather, we should consider each stage of life a unique opportunity in which we can use our life circumstances to honor God. Hunt continues:

Ultimately, it is not the life-season or circumstance that matters. It is not so much what I do as who I am. The question is not “What is my role?” but “What is my goal?” Am I becoming more and more conformed to the image of Christ? Am I being transformed by the renewing of my mind? Am I loving God with all of my heart, mind, and soul and loving my neighbor as myself? Am I encouraging and equipping younger people to live for God’s glory?

What really caught my eyes was the statement “The question is not ‘What is my role?’ but ‘What is my goal?’” This is an excellent perspective because we are naturally inclined to focus on our present role(s) and lose sight of what ought to be our goal as a mother, wife, or friend. The goal, of course, is to live our lives to the glory of God through our changing life circumstances. As the apostle Paul put it in Philippians 3:13-14:

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

I pray that God may help those of us, especially those in less “glamorous” roles, not to lose sight of the goal, and of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that in every moment of “menial” service it may be done to His glory and our holiness and joy.