About the Author

Mary is a writer and speaker who lives for good books, spicy queso, and television marathons – but lives because of God’s grace. She writes about giving up on perfect and finding truth in unexpected places at MaryCarver.com. Mary and her husband live in Kansas City with their two daughters.

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things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
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  1. Thank you. As a homeschooling mom, there are days when the “dailiness” seems overwhelming. Thank you for the great reminder that ever task is just a tiny piece of a much greater goal of building young men and women who will grow up as Temples of the Holy Spirit, intent on doing His work. What beautiful cathedrals God has entrusted me with, one shovel-scoop, dirty dish, spelling test and bottom wipe at a time! 🙂

  2. Thanks so much for this wisdom! It’s pretty timely for me. Maintaining diligence, with the right mind set, all the time, is something that the Lord is still working on in me. My cathedral this week… diligently maintaining successful programs at work, working hard on pre-marital counseling homework, and graciously and cheerfully planning a Christ-centered wedding that will hopefully encourage and impact our friends and family. I hope you have a great week! I’m definitely going to try and keep the cathedral word picture in my mind.

  3. this post is so timely for me. thank you for sharing. i love how the Lord provides these bits of encouragement in unexpected ways. i’ve been placed in a few leadership positions and am in a time of great transition and uncertainty. it has forced me to see things just as you’ve described. thank you!

  4. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I would also like to point out that this is a good anecdote to illustrate the importance of leaders sharing their vision with their followers and make sure they get it right. This will increase the motivation of followers. Sometimes people get so bogged down to their to-do list that they can get easily frustrated in what they do. Leaders need to be around to keep them focused on the vision to be accomplished. Vision is a leadership characteristic that needs to be shared.

  5. Just what I needed to hear today! My “cathedral” today is my home–and all that goes into cleaning and maintaining it.
    NOT fun. But if I look at the bigger picture as being a good steward of somethng God has blessed me with, it does make doing my chores a bit more important than it seems 😉

  6. This is good. I needed it. I forget sometimes why I’m doing what I’m doing– why we’ve made the choices we have. Wonderful insights.

  7. I needed this reminder today. I’ve read many times that the great cathedrals of the world often took more time to build than the lifetimes of those men who started digging the holes. Those men never saw the magnificent finished product of their work. But they believed in the architect.
    I did too. I do. I instructed my children in the Word of the Lord; I taught them His love. And I had the long view even then. While I was changing diapers and singing songs, I was aware that I was building lives.
    Then Satan attacked my family. And now my grown children have abandoned the God they knew and used to love. I am trusting our Architect, our God, who promised me that, if I taught my children to know Him, they would return to Him.
    I may never see my cathedrals, but I have to trust God to finish His work in them. I would so much love to see this before I die, but that may not happen. My role now is to pray and to TRUST.

  8. I need the reminder of this sometimes… I only do little things now, not the big things I was used to doing. But each little thing from my little condo that affects a person’s life is a part of the big picture.
    I want to always remember that each little thing should be done with the same grace and attention I used to give the big things.

  9. i can get such tunnel vision that i lose sight of the bigger vision. when i stare at the “hole i’m digging”—the piles on my desk, my email inbox, the myriad of menial things that make up my day—i can forget that i’m building a cathedral. as i tell my staff team all the time, “it’s all Kingdom business.” i need to remember that myself more often. all the small things i’m doing are a part of cathedral-building.

  10. Love this, Mar.
    I think that there is a great story out there somewhere about moms building cathedrals that very much relates to this. It talks about the people of the middle ages who built the cathedrals, but never got to see them completed and compares it to the long and often unnoticed work of moms.
    Thanks for the great reminder!

  11. Lindsey, you have no idea how convicting your words were to me! When I think back to planning my wedding, cheerful and gracious are two ways I would NOT be described! What a great reminder to treat our friends and family with care, with respect, with LOVE – no matter the circumstances. I tend to forget that building relationships is all part of the cathedral that God has planned for us. Thank you for the reminder. 🙂
    To: givinguponperfect@gmail.com

  12. As a teacher, I get bogged down in the grading and the planning and the thousand other small tasks that are thrown at me everyday. I constantly have to remind myself that I am giving these students the skills they will need for the rest of their life. I am training up the next generation of business owners, designers, educators, parents and scientists. I am helping 12 year olds figure out who they will be. What a job!

  13. Heya! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new apple iphone!
    Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward
    to all your posts! Keep up the fantastic work!

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