Have you ever felt like absolutely no one sees or cares about what you’re doing at home everyday? Have you felt invisible, even from your husband? If so, you need to listen to Shalene’s story today!!
3 Key Takeaways:
Here are 3 key takeaways for anyone navigating hard seasons in parenthood or leadership:
- Seeking Validation is Universal: It’s natural to look for affirmation outside ourselves when feeling unseen, but the most transformative validation can come from recognizing that our work is sacred, even when it’s unnoticed by the world. (06:12)
- Small Habits, Big Impact: Simple spiritual disciplines, like quick prayers in chaotic moments, can tether us to what matters most and renew our mindset. (17:43)
- Kingdom Work in the Ordinary: Seemingly mundane acts (like washing little hands) are moments where the sacred meets the everyday. When we anchor our purpose in something greater, even the smallest tasks take on new meaning. (22:27)
You’re not alone in those invisible moments: sometimes the deepest roots of our impact grow where no one else sees.
📚 FOLLOW-UP RESOURCES:
- 🖥️ Website & resources
- 📚 Book: When Mothering Is Hard and No One Sees
- 📱Instagram & Facebook: @shalenerobertsblog
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📝SUMMARY
There are days in motherhood that feel like they’ll never end, where your efforts are swallowed up in diapers, dishes, and the persistent hum of chaos. You might wonder if anyone sees the exhausting, unglamorous work you do every day. If you’ve ever felt invisible in your own home, you’re not alone.
On this episode of Little Shoots Deep Roots, I sat down with Shalene Roberts to dig deep into the heart of those unseen seasons: why they matter, how God meets us in them, and practical ways to transform the mundane into something sacred.
From Magazine Editor to Motherhood
Shalene Roberts shared candidly about her journey from being a magazine editor to becoming a stay-at-home mom. In her editorial role, affirmation and recognition were everywhere. But motherhood? It’s largely solitary and often thankless work. The shelves may once have held her magazine, but now they overflowed with laundry baskets and toy bins.
After the birth of her first child, Shalene willingly stepped away from her career. While the season was beautiful, she was unprepared for the crushing weight of ambiguity and invisibility that soon set in. When her husband’s work took him away, she was often left “holding down the fort with five children,” a job that included every role from chef to referee to late-night comforter.
She reached a breaking point in the early years when, overwhelmed and feeling unseen, she poured her heart out to God:
“Is this work that I’m doing really going to matter ten years from now? Do you even see me?”
That prayer, in the middle of a cheerio-strewn kitchen, changed everything.
The God Who Sees
God led Shalene to the story of Hagar in Genesis, where Hagar, feeling abandoned, gives God the name “El Roi”—the God who sees. Just like Hagar, Shalene realized her unseen moments were not overlooked by God.
“You may not feel appreciated, your work may not be applauded right now, but I see. The work you are doing is high and holy and sacred.”
That soul-whisper from God didn’t solve every struggle overnight, but it reframed her perspective.
That authentic outpouring led to a blog post, “When Mothering is Hard and No One Sees,” which unexpectedly went viral. Suddenly women from all over the world echoed her cry: “Me too.”
Finding Worth Beyond Likes and Recognition
Like so many “mommy bloggers” in the early 2010s, Shalene Roberts admits her search for validation shaped her blogging journey. “I needed to feel like somebody saw what I was doing and appreciated it,” she reflected. Blogging wasn’t bad; it produced community and encouragement. But she also learned (and continues to learn) that ultimate worth can’t be found in page views or praise but in the God who sees us where we are.
Emotions, Thoughts, and Transforming Our Minds
Understanding that God sees us is crucial, but emotions don’t always follow our theology. We both shared how, even with solid head knowledge that God cares, the ache of invisibility persists. The solution? Shalene emphasizes the need to be “transformed by the renewing of [our] mind”. That includes shifting our thinking to see motherhood as Kingdom work: partnering with God in raising disciples, not just well-behaved children.
Daily Habits for Sacred Mothering
What does “renewing your mind” look like when you can barely find a quiet bathroom, much less a quiet time? Shalene encourages three daily disciplines: prayer, rest, and abiding in Christ. She points to Susanna Wesley, mother of 19 and spiritual matriarch, who would toss her apron over her head as a signal of prayer-in-progress. It was a visible, creative way to seek God amid the noise. Shalene Roberts urges us to find our own “apron moments”…two minutes at the sink, a Psalm by the stove, a Bible story in the minivan.
And these moments don’t have to be alone—include your children. Sometimes their questions draw us deeper into God’s word than we’d ever go alone.
The Sacredness of Ordinary Work
Perhaps the most powerful story in our conversation was a tiny, ordinary moment: washing blackberry-juice-stained fingers for her toddler. Time slowed, and Shalene sensed God whisper: “Jesus washed feet. You are washing hands. Everything is sacred when I am in it.”
If the Son of God found holiness in the ordinary, so can we.
So, fellow weary moms: your work is sacred. The God who sees you meets you in the kitchen, the car, the carpool line. And in those seemingly invisible moments, you cultivate roots of faith that will grow deep in your home…and in your own soul.
You are seen. Keep tending the little shoots. Deep roots are growing.
📚 FOLLOW-UP RESOURCES:
- 🖥️ Website & resources
- 📚 Book: When Mothering Is Hard and No One Sees
- 📱Instagram & Facebook: @shalenerobertsblog
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