In the evening, when I was praying, the Mother of God told me, your lives must be like mine: quiet and hidden, in unceasing union with God.
St. Faustina’s Diary
When I stumbled upon this quote I was struck by it’s simplicity and beauty. I wrote it on a sticky note and used it as a bookmark. I’d look to it often, admiring the gentle words of our mother. How lovely for St. Faustina, to be called to a quiet, hidden life in unceasing union with God.
Most of us live busy lives filled with activities and work. We struggle to slow down and just be. We struggle to quiet our lives – internally and externally. And we want anything but to be hidden. We long to be heard and seen. But yet, a quiet, hidden life sounds so peaceful. Beneath our addiction to busyness and our desires to be seen is a gentle longing for the kind of life Mary invites us to.
I kept stumbling upon this idea of a quiet hidden life, admiring it, and setting it aside as if it were meant for someone else. I am often far more interested in a loud life, full of success and celebration. The kind of success that makes me known. Not the quiet success of a family life.
A year later, the sticky note bookmark fell off a dusty shelf and captivated me one last time. A quiet, hidden life in unceasing union with God. What a holy and wonderful thing to strive for. What an amazing life that would be.
The temptation is to imagine a life locked away, hidden from the world, cut off from friends. But what Mary is calling us to is a quiet, hidden internal life. And one of the greatest gifts of being a stay at home mom is the gift to practice this call.
Each day brings it’s own melody. We move throughout the house, room to room, cleaning and caring for all who live there. In the process we can loose ourselves to the song of thanksgiving and praise, or the song of burden and resentment. From a quiet, hidden heart comes the light load of praise and thanksgiving. From a noisy, self-seeking heart comes the heavy load of burden and resentment.
Many moms feel this struggle. Their homes are loud and their hearts are louder. There is no peace. But God begs with us, each of us, please quiet your heart so you may hear him. In the hustle and bustle of noisy children, endless chores, and a myriad of other tasks we can quiet our hearts. We can find endless joy flowing from the dance of motherhood.
If your home feels particularly quiet and lonely or your life feels unbearably hidden, then run as fast as you can to the arms of Jesus. He will help quiet your mind, and He will hold your heart, hidden in His very own. And then, your life will feel more full than ever. Quiet, hidden, but oh so full.
