"It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the
way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and
ask to be taken to the store.
Inside I’m thinking, “Can’t you see I’m on the phone?”
Obviously not. No one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or
sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because
no one can see me at all. I’m invisible.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this?
Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I’m not a pair of hands;
I’m not even a human being. I’m a clock to ask, “What time is it?” I’m
a satellite guide to answer, “What number is the Disney Channel?” I’m a
car to order, “Pick me up right around 5:30, please.”
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the
eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude
– but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be
seen again.
She’s going … she’s going … she’s gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of
a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous
trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was
sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well.
It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down
at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was
clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid
I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty
pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package,
and said, “I brought you this.”
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure
why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription: “To Charlotte,
with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one
sees.”
In the days ahead I would read — no, devour — the book. And I would
discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after
which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great
cathedrals– we have no record of their names. These builders gave
their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made
great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building
was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the
cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny
bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, “Why
are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will
be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.” And the workman
replied, “Because God sees.”
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was
almost as if I heard God whispering to me, “I see you, Charlotte. I see
the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No
act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake
you’ve baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are
building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.”
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a
disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my
own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As
one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see
finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The
writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever
be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to
sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don’t want my son to tell the friend
he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, “My mom gets up at 4
in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand-bastes a
turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.” That
would mean I’d built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him
to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his
friend, to add, “You’re gonna love it there.”
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if
we’re doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world
will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has
been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women."
This is an excerpt from a book called
"The Invisible Woman".This was given to me, at a time last spring, when I was busy building walls and was reminded by a dear friend that what I really should be focusing on was the beautiful Cathedrals I was building.I so needed that reminder that day.I continue to need that nudge from time to time.I send it lovingly, once again, to all of you mom's who come here daily.Remind yourselves often of the great works you are doing each and everyday.I want to also acknowledge those that come here and find that this excerpt doesn't even come close to mirroring your life and what goes on in it on a daily basis.I understand that as well.You all inspire me at a time when I know you would rather not.You would much rather just have a normal,whatever that is, run of the mill, carpooling mom life.I get that as well.I truly do.I wear a lot of different hats as a mom nowadays and soon will don a new hat ...a grandmother.It is often difficult to distinguish which one to put on from time to time but the bottom line for me is that,regardless of the specifics of my life as mom and the daily ebb and flow of that job,I am truly doing what I have always aspired to be doing.How incredibly blessed am I?Enjoy your day ladies.Take in,savor and cherish those cathedrals you are building.
