“Do not despise small beginnings, for the LORD loves to see the work begin.” -Zechariah 4:10
“Humble yourselves before the LORD, and he will lift you up in due time.” -James 4:10
In April of 2013, a book called The Cuckoo’s Calling released, immediately starting its climb to the top of book charts. The crime novel took the publishing world by storm as literary critics and newfound fans alike marveled at Robert Galbraith, a first-time author, who could write such a stupendous novel.
This grand awe lasted a total of three months, until a Twitter leak led to a forensic linguist confirming the incredible newbie author was in reality the world-renowned J.K. Rowling. Rowling said she found writing under a pseudonym liberating, and a part of my heart breaks for the author who feels so confined to the rules of the publishing world and the expectations of her adoring fans that she cannot pursue her craft for the sheer love she once had.
None of us like our anonymous seasons, but isn’t it fascinating that once someone makes it past her season of obscurity she longs for the previous times of little renown?
There are few jobs more thankless than motherhood. Even if children one day grow up to realize what you did for them, that adulation will probably come long after you’ve made peace with them not understanding the sacrifices you made. If there is any vocation that could most accurately describe anonymity, it would be motherhood.
But for those of us in Christ, hope abounds for the thankless jobs. Not only does God tell us that He is the one who decides when kingdoms rise and fall, that he numbers the hairs on our heads and takes care of the sparrows, but Jesus himself didn’t despise small beginnings. While he had three years of a ministry that changed the eternal fate of every human being, we often forget that he spent thirty years in undocumented history becoming the Savior we would find in the gospels.
It is in the anonymous seasons that a surrendered woman learns the tools and skills necessary for the known seasons ahead. It is how she changes diapers faithfully, depends on the Lord through sleepless nights, and prays over the future of her children through their rebellion that cements the foundation of her faith.
Author Alicia Britt Chole writes in her book Anonymous, “Jesus’ true strength was not revealed in his ability to teach and lead the multitudes. It was manifested in his willingness to make himself nothing, to suffer, and to die. I had enough strength to exhaust myself studying, mentoring, and teaching, but I did not possess sufficient strength to be nothing.” (My emphasis added)
We dream of the day when our church will notice how we have volunteered to lead the past ten Bible studies or the day when someone will thank us for that casserole we brought them in the hospital. At bare minimum we like to think our kids will one day thank us for cooking them dinner their whole lives. But what if in all our longings we’re missing the greatest gift of all – the ability to become nothing?
In seasons of reduction, perhaps like the year 2020 has been for a lot of us, we are left with the core of who we are, whether we like what we find or not. But when confronted with the reality of our hearts, we twiddle our thumbs in impatience, praying fervently that God would restore the world, or if we’re more honest, our worlds, to equilibrium, speeding past the stop sign of gratitude for the current season we’re in.
If you find yourself in an anonymous season right now, take heart. You are aligning yourself with what your Savior already did for you. Press into the obscurity and let God teach you the lessons that will keep you from falling should you ever reach the height of acknowledgement. He who began a good work in you will carry it to completion.
-by Tera Bradham
Tera Bradham is an author, speaker, podcast host, and fitness coach, but she has also been a Spanish teacher, a swimming coach, a journalist, and a travel vlogger. After growing up in Round Rock, Texas, she swam for the University of Arkansas and for Texas A&M University before heading to South America on a year of missions with the World Race. God added another plot twist to her life when she met the man of her dreams, who happened to be from Montana. She now relishes the beauty of Bozeman’s mountains each day with her husband, Jacob. Her heart’s deepest passion is for others to know her extraordinary God who makes every day a miraculous adventure. More information can be found at terabradham.com.
