They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”  
Mark 9:33-37 NIV
 

Can I be real with you?   I often find being a mom the most thankless, underpaid, under-appreciated job in the world.  Go ahead and start playing that teeny-tiny violin.
 
My 15-month-old likes to wake up at 3 in the morning lately. He doesn't cry, because he's pretty much the sweetest kid ever, but instead he just pulls himself up in his crib and shouts, "Mama! Mama!" until I get him out. 
 
My 4-year-old recently stopped napping because there are "too many thoughts in her head", and though I have tried to implement quiet time, she likes to get naked in her bedroom and try on clothes.
 
My toddler eats more than a grown man, and poops like one, too (No details.  You're welcome.).
 
My days are filled with changing diapers, preparing food for two kids -- one with severe allergies and one with severe picky-ness ("I don't eat dead bird"), reading books with riveting story lines about Dick and Jane and their weird family with a very limited vocabulary, picking up toys, bargaining with a strong-willed 4-year-old, and changing more diapers.
 
I envy my daughter the thoughts in her head, because frankly, I can't remember the last time I had a thought that wasn't interrupted.

I moan with my girlfriends about my sacrifices -- can you believe how little sleep I've gotten? Can you believe the sassy child I have?  Can you imagine having to cook food with almond milk instead of cow's milk?
 
I play the martyr card in my head, and then Jesus goes ahead and knocks me upside it with this little bit of Scripture: "Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all."
 
Whoa, God. (It's like he knows my inmost being, or something.)  When I stop behaving like a martyr and instead behave like a humble servant, I am actually doing the stuff of Jesus. When I welcome one of these little children in His name, I am actually welcoming Jesus Himself.
 
When I prepare and serve food for my son that his tummy can handle and when I sit through Fun With Dick and Jane for the umpteenth time and praise my little girl for her reading, I am actually serving and praising Jesus.
 
When I perform the seemingly mundane, thankless tasks of the day, I am actually providing for "the least of these brothers and sisters of mine" (Matthew 25:40) and serving the King Himself. 
 
When I treat my children as "good and perfect gifts from above" (James 1:17) instead of daily nuisances and robbers of joy, my children feel welcomed and loved by me.
 
When I change the attitude of my heart into one that desires to serve instead of one that desires recognition, my actions become filled with purpose and truth and I am showing my children the very heart of Jesus.
 
And the more I lower myself, the closer I become to the Most High, who "humbled himself by becoming obedient to death -- even death on a cross." (Phillippians 2:8)  No wonder Jesus commands this of us.