Who do you work for?

Hebrews 10: ³⁵So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. ³⁶You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised

All too often I fall into the mindset of being under appreciated and just plain forgotten about. Here I am at home, serving little people all day who rarely say thanks or clean up after themselves and have no idea how many minutes I spend cleaning up after them. I don't get paid and don't get regular vacation time. The last time I was too sick to take care of the kids, I still had to do it, because hubby couldn't leave work to come home! I spend my days wiping dirty faces, playing referee in arguments, reasoning with those who can't reason, cleaning a house that finds itself trashed minutes later, cooking meals everyone hates and complains about but I know are good for them, and finally falling exhausted into bed to start over the next day.
   Not only that, but I have a very, very determined and headstrong child who has a quota to fill each day of testing and pushing the limits, which makes for a very crabby mommy. And I'm pretty sure that most of the time my six kids don't speak English, or they have a very tuned and finely exacted gift of ignoring!
   The list goes on and on. In the midst of it all it's a wonder I haven't gone completely insane! Some days I feel close to it. But there is one thing that keeps me going. The Lord has been impressing on my heart lately to persevere and endure. Over and over in my quiet times He has been saying, keep going, don't give up, there is a reward at the end, persevere! And I have been slowly hiding that away in my heart to change and refine my perspective on this life.
   Maybe no one appreciates me, but if I persevere, there will be rewards much greater than anything on earth. Maybe my house is a disaster, but if I persevere, I won't be. Maybe my kids get an A+ for disobeying, but if I persevere, they will walk in the truth and follow hard after their God.
   There are days when this concept is lost in the chaos of this house! But as the Lord works on me and continues to refine me, it is becoming more and more of the central theme of this house. Persevere and there will be rich rewards at the end.
   So, who do I work for? It's not my kids, my husband, my friends. It's my great God, the only true God, and the only one who can offer eternal rewards.