Do What You Can

“Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.” (Mark 14:3, NLT)

In 1920, ninety-nine legislators gathered at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee to vote on the hotly contested decision to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment. You see, 35 states had agreed to approve the women’s right to vote, but one more state was needed to amend the Constitution. Tennessee was in the middle of that vote.

A man named Harry Burn was set to vote with the anti-suffragettes and deny the right, but as he sat in the hotel, he held a note in his pocket from his mom. Febb Burn had sent her son a letter filled with updates from their family farm, and a line that simply said, “vote for suffrage and don’t keep them in doubt.”

Harry stood to vote and swung the final tally in favor of women’s rights 49 to 47. You and I have the right to vote because of a little note written by Harry Burn’s mama. She did what she could when she could.

Countless moms have told me how stuck they feel by the demands of life. Many want to feel like they are doing something meaningful in the world, but are too burdened by the daily duties they manage.

According to the latest research from MomCo and Barna, less than one in five moms feel like they are able to contribute meaningfully to the world. Moms don’t feel seen.

The truth is that we are doing the most important work of our lives but very few of us receive recognition. We don’t get trophies or promotions for the unseen work that we do. Febb Burn’s name is not often told in the story of the 19th Amendment.

As moms, we often serve faithfully hoping our actions will impact.

Jesus regularly recognized men and women the rest of society was ready to ignore. Consider the story of the woman who poured out a jar of very expensive perfume over Jesus. Everyone else was angry. Why waste something so valuable? She could have used that money for something so much more important. But Jesus disagreed. He defended her.

“Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why are you giving her a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives. Whenever you feel like it, you can do something for them. Not so with me. She did what she could when she could—she pre-anointed my body for burial. And you can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she just did is going to be talked about admiringly.” (Mark 14:6-9, MSG)

She did what she could when she could.

Reflection:

1. Make a list of some of the ways you have contributed to your family (or community) in the last few days. Take a moment to reflect and celebrate the many accomplishments you have already made.
2. Ask God to show you one thing you can do for Him today. Big or small—one faith-directed way to “do what you can, when you can.”
3. Later in the day, or the next morning, revisit your list and add your God-directed act of faith.

Prayer:

God, thank you for directing my steps. Help me to continually hear your voice and find ways to serve your Kingdom. In the ways I can. In the time I have. I know you see me and love me just as I am. Just where I am. AMEN.