There is a unique thing that happens to moms around purpose, meaning, and work. Something that few others may experience quite like this.
To be a mom is to have your purpose and work shifting and changing… ALL. THE. TIME.
When a woman becomes a mom, things change for her in a way that is so unique to her. They change for Dad, too. But not like they do for mom.
How many of us could tell stories of our own mothers, or moms we know, who gave up everything to raise their children?
Have you ever met a young woman who swore she would never have children? And now she has 5 kids? Or maybe you know someone who has sat and cried with you because they gave up all of those “firsts” with their child so that they could chase God's calling on their lives in the marketplace.
For some of you moms, obedience into the workplace has been coupled with mourning the loss of sweet mama moments you can never get back.
For others, obediently staying at home with your children meant saying goodbye to the career you had carefully built.
Maybe you got pregnant with your next child. Or maybe your child was independent in a way they had not yet been and you looked in the mirror and realized you didn’t even know yourself any more.
Whatever that thing was… whatever that change entailed… you were at a new spot. A new season. And you had to reimagine everything.
That is the story of every mom. From one season to another, from one transition to another. Obediently trading in one thing for another. And all the while, the vocation of a mother is shifting.
To be a mom is to reimagine your role, your place, your purpose, your calling, your vocation over and over and over again.
Vocational imagination. Sounds fancy.
There is a deep need in the life of any Christian, any person really, to dream. We see this in so many places in the Bible.
We weren’t created to make something from nothing. Only God can do that. As people we are created in the image of God. And in that, our ability to be imaginative and create is boundless.
But, unlike God, we don’t create from nothing.
Before we can mirror our Creator and start creating, we need inspiration. We need to see the vision, become inspired by an idea or a thought. Before things become a reality they have to begin as imagination in our hearts and minds.
The Bible is absolutely full of stories in which God inspired and activated imagination. Think of Abraham and the promise to give him as many descendants as there were stars in the sky.
Think of Sarah, who was told she’d be pregnant at the age of 90. Can you imagine? What an imagination God has!
He inspired Mary’s imagination when she was promised to have a child without ever being with a man! And Joseph was given imagination when he was told that his very son would be God With Us… the very divine Savior they’d waited for would toddle around his house.
So when we talk about vocational imagination, we’re describing this idea that our vocation, or job/purpose/role/calling, requires us to get inspired or creative. Moms, especially, have to get creative about how they view and understand their job in every new season.
Today, we’re going to dive into the story of Joseph. Joseph the dreamer, the runt of the family, the slave, the accused, the trusted, and eventually the influential.
Let's take a moment to dive into the story of Joseph, the dreamer. The son of Jacob. He was someone who heard from God. From a young age, Yahweh was inspiring and speaking to Joseph.
One of the first things we learn about him is that God sent him a dream in which He would rule over his brothers. A dream in which his brothers were bowing down before him.
And so in Genesis 37 we see the first major transition Joseph goes through in his life. Joseph goes from beloved son to Egyptian slave.
We catch up with him again in Chapter 39. It says:
“Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.”
So here we see Joseph, the former beloved son, now taken to a land he does not know as a slave. He’s lost all his influence, all of his freedom. What he knows is shepherding and dreaming and walking around in a beautiful robe his dad gave him. And then without warning he’s taken into a house where he has no influence to do work he’s never done before.
Now, to be clear, I am not making a connection between Joseph’s life of slavery and motherhood.
Some of us moms may feel enslaved sometimes to the laundry and the dishes and the grocery lists, haha…
But there are important things we can see in the life of Joseph that help us understand vocational imagination.
Joseph the dreamer was full of vocational imagination. We can see a couple of really important things happening here:
This is the pattern of Joseph’s entire story. His life, as we’ll see, is an ever-shifting pattern of being taken into seasons he did not plan to do things he was unprepared for. And yet, he was tethered to God. And in that tethering, Joseph’s influence always grew.
We’ve already said that imagination is about getting creative. And you’ll remember, our original vocation in Genesis is to co-create. It’s to create and work in collaboration with God.
So in the life of Joseph we see this always-present connection to the Lord. The Lord was with Joseph.
And as a result of that nearness to God, every situation Joseph found himself in became something greater and bigger than he could have intended or manipulated for himself.
I think, often, moms are enthralled with control. Some of that is learned behavior. We know that if our middle child doesn’t get their nap the rest of the day will be thrown off so we have to arrange the beginning of the day just right or else all hell will break loose…
But some of that is just our sin nature. A lot of that is our sin nature.
You’ll notice these scriptures do not say: “And Joseph was excellent in all he did and made good friends with his master so that they trusted him and he found their vulnerability and….”
Joseph did not control or manipulate himself into his role. It says “The Lord was with him…”
Joseph is tethered to the dreammaker. He’s connected to the Creator. The one who imagines and orchestrates and leads. Joseph didn’t get it right because he was a hard worker. I’m sure he was. And we know stewardship is a crucial part of this equation.
God does not give more influence to those who do not steward.
So stewardship here is implied. Joseph worked hard in his lowly position.
But what the scripture says is that the Lord was with him and THAT is what led to him gaining influence and favor.
Not only do we not see Joseph controlling the situation.
We don’t see him conjuring up a grander life for himself than the one he’s been given.
You see, vocational imagination is not about conjuring up something grander and more beautiful than our current reality.
Redemptive vocational imagination, the kind of dreaming and inspiration that comes from being anchored in Jesus our redeemer… that kind of imagination is about constantly surrendering all your roles and all your jobs and all the parts of your life so that you can catch the heavenly vision God has for you.
Even as a young favored son in Jacob’s house, Joseph was tethered to Yahweh. And in that nearness to God Joseph dreamed he was more than just the young favored son, he dreamed he was the firstborn over them all.
Wherever you are, mama, whether you see motherhood as God’s greatest gift or you are in a season where motherhood feels burdensome and hard and heavy… God’s imagination for you is far bigger and more than you can imagine on your own.
Because motherhood isn’t the thing.
As you know, changing diapers and keeping an organized home isn’t the thing. Placing your child in the care of someone you trust and going to work so that you can provide for your family or do a job God assigned to you… that’s not the thing.
You need God’s vocational imagination for your life so that this season becomes about the thing your Father is doing. And not something else.
Your calling as mom is to collaborate with God, get creative, and diligently go about the work God has given you.
As we continue to read in Genesis 39, we see the next shift in Joseph’s life. Because the end of the story, as is true for so many mothers here, is not where Joseph has a good handle on the household and he has favor and influence.
The story doesn’t land there.
Life changes again for Joseph. After refusing to sleep with Potiphar’s wife, he’s wrongfully accused. Potiphar’s wife lies and says that Joseph tried to seduce her.
And so Joseph is sent to prison.
Here is Joseph, once again, sent to a place he does not know to do work he’s never done.
Genesis 39:19-23
When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
Again we see this pattern. “The Lord was with him…” and so the warden gave him great influence.
While in prison, Joseph continued to hear from the Lord. He became a great interpreter of dreams. And we see that eventually, in God’s timing, that dreaming gave Joseph an audience with Pharoah.
This idea of dreaming is so important in Josephs’ story, and in ours too. It shows us that God’s presence is bigger and extends beyond the physical realities that we see. God sees something more, and His spiritual perspective can break into whatever reality we’re in, including in Joseph’s situation - prison.
Pharaoh had a dream he wanted interpreted, and Joseph was the only one able to tell him what it meant.
Genesis 41:39-43
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”
41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.
So here’s Joseph again, in a new place with roles and responsibilities. Given favor not by his own hand, but by the way he’s tethered to the Lord.
If you remember the rest of this story, this dream Joseph interprets is actually a warning of a great famine. And so Joseph spends many years in great power, storing away food and preparing for a famine that would wreak havoc on their entire region.
Eventually, during the famine, Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt looking for food. They encounter Joseph and don’t even know it’s him. Joseph is able to give them food and bless them. He even reveals himself to them in the end, and forgives them.
His brother bowed down to him. Just like in the dream he had as a boy.
In the life of Joseph, God always had a plan to redeem Joseph’s story. He always had a vision for taking all the loss and all the surrendering and all the pain and all the hardship and all the sacrifice and redeeming it for His vision and His purpose.
We all know that motherhood is full of incredible blessings. Not one of you, no matter the story you’re carrying, would ever give it up. I know that.
But motherhood is also deeply sacrificial. We serve a God who wants to take whatever your story is here and now… and He wants to infuse it with imagination.
He wants to take the beautiful things and make them more stunning than you could have thought. He wants to take the painful things and give them purpose. He wants to take the sacrifices and redeem them for joy.
So let me speak now to some of the seasons. I won’t catch them all and for that I’m sorry. But it’s worth coloring in the lines of this idea of vocational imagination.
If you are a stay-at-home mom, you need to hear that your job is about so much more than being “mom.” I know you already know that being a mom is crucial, important work. You’re at home with your kids because you already know it’s a full-time job. You already know it’s worth every ounce of effort you put into it. You already know it’s full of calling and purpose. So I’m not downplaying that. But God has even bigger plans for you. He does. As big as your vocation is right now, He wants to infuse it with even more imagination. He has people in your neighborhood, your homeschool group, your gym, your local coffee shop that He wants to reach with YOUR family. He has passions and skills He wants you to use. He’s calling you up, friends. He’s asking you to come to the table and dream. Dream about what’s possible if you surrendered even more deeply to His mission and vision.
If you are a working mom, you also need to hear that your job is about so much more than being “mom.” Because I know that when you go to work you aren’t setting down the “mom” stuff. You carry your kids with you into every office door. I know you know that your work is important and meaningful. Whether you work because you need the income or you work because God assigned you to that task, I know you’re full of purpose. But if you’re carrying regret or mourning the loss of missing out on mom stuff, you need to hear that God wants to redeem that time with His imagination. If you’re carrying frustration at all the roles and responsibilities you have to be in charge of, you need to hear that God wants you to surrender all of those things so that He can inspire you. You have great influence and in order for His good purposes to take flight, He wants you tethered to His heart.
If you are a mom re-entering the workforce after years of not working, you need to hear that God has vocational imagination for you. Whether you enter the workforce in a lowly position, working for some 20-somethings. OR whether you re-enter the workforce as the boss, He has purposes and plans that have nothing to do with your control or your scheming. He wants to dream with you about this next season of vocation.
If you are a mourning mom, you need to hear that God has imagination for what’s next. And He’s not done with your story. He’s not done. And He wants to re-inspire you for the big things He has planned. He wants to redeem what you lost so that it’s not wasted but it brings back ten-fold for His Kingdom. He wants you tethered to Him so he can help you dream again.
It’s important to get a hold of this principle: Redemptive vocational imagination is not just about the future; it’s not only about what’s next. It’s about how God can show up and redeem and transform the place you are in today. It’s important for us to treasure every moment when the Lord shows up and to enjoy that moment. For Joseph it meant that God’s presence not only gave him hope, but it also transformed the places where he was living then and there. God wants to inspire you about where you are today, and the importance and opportunities of the roles you have today.
If you’re a mom with children that are not following Jesus, you need to hear that God has imagination for this season of motherhood. He wants to inspire you with what’s possible in His timing and purpose.
If you’re a mom in a brand new transition: you’re having your first baby, your third baby, you’re giving up a job, you’re putting your kids in childcare for the first time for a new job, you’re sending them off to school for the first time, you’re sending them off to college for the first time, you’re helping them plan a wedding, their first baby shower, or buy their first house… whatEVER “mom” looks like right now, you need to hear that this new season is absolutely full of God’s imagination. And if you can stay tethered to His heart, tethered to the Redeemer and Creator of all things, then He wants to inspire you with a greater purpose in this coming season than you ever thought possible.