When I look back on my years of motherhood, there were countless days that felt like an endless cycle of taxiing kids from one place to another – school, piano, baseball, rehearsal, football, choir, etc. At the time, it seemed like a blur of monotony, and I remember how easily I could lose sight of the sacredness of those moments. The temptation wasn’t just exhaustion, it was to become tepid.
I didn’t realize it then, but that was the true danger: not falling apart, not giving up, but letting the fire in my heart for God, my vocation, and my family slowly cool to lukewarm embers.
I read once that in ministry, the greatest threat isn’t persecution, but tepidity. When we stop seeking God to renew our passion, when we let routine replace relationship, we risk losing the spark that gives life to our work. And I’ve come to realize the same holds true for parenthood, marriage, and even our professional callings.
Now, with my sons grown and in their late twenties, life looks very different. The carpool days are long gone. Yet the temptation to be tepid still lingers, not in the chaos of schedules, but in the comfort of routine. It’s easy to think: I’ve already poured in so much, maybe I can just coast now. But that’s when the greatest danger seeps in.
God doesn’t call us to lukewarm faith. He calls us to be fully alive, fully engaged, fully aflame in every season of life. Whether in the carpool line of motherhood, the long grind of ministry, or the quieter season of watching our adult children make their way in this world, every moment is sacred if we keep our hearts ablaze for Him.
The challenge is simple, but not easy: keep stoking the fire. Pray for fresh vision. Seek new ways to serve. Ask God to remind you of the burning desire you once had, whether it was to be a parent, to serve in ministry, or simply to follow Him. That same flame can burn again, and brighter still.
As Revelation warns us, “Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Rev 3:16). That’s a sobering call. But the good news is that God longs to breathe His Spirit into our embers and set us aflame again.
So, what can we do? Show up. Pray. Notice the sacred in the mundane. Say yes when God nudges. And never, ever settle for being lukewarm.
