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"We can do no great things; only small things with great love," by Mother Teresa, is one of my very favorite quotes. It reminds me of just how far a little bit of compassion can go....and it reminds me that small things really do matter.
Small Things.
It's what I've been posting each weekday now for, well, going on five years. So much of the time here, I have fun with mundane things like toilet scrubbing and picking up and cleaning, but really the Small Things are about so much more than housekeeping. Thank God making a home isn't all about cleaning or I'd be sunk.
Making a home is all about the small things you do that communicate love and caring. Sometimes I fall into the trap of grumbling over sorting socks and washing dishes and cooking chicken again - all such seemingly thankless jobs - but when I remember to step back and see those things for what they are, everything changes.
They are small things done with great love.
Yeah, sometimes I don't actually feel the love when I'm doing them, but listen. Love is a choice. Acts of love are choices, whether we feel like them or not. So when I choose to pick up a certain someone's keys and wallet or put away the laundry, I'm choosing to love....regardless of how I actually feel at the time.
Small things done for my family say: I care about you. I love you enough to make sure you are fed and educated and properly prepared for the world. I love you enough to see that you have clean sheets on the bed because I want you to remember the deliciousness of childhood and the comfort of being tucked in. I want you to know what it feels like to have someone delight in you and think you're brilliant. I want you to have a home that feels good because it's pretty and warm and welcoming. I choose to love you in small ways everyday, whether you notice them or not, because you are God's gift to me and I want to be a good steward of His gifts. You belong to me and I love you more than anything.
Today's Small Thing is to see the "mundane" things you do, not as drudgery, but as a whole lot of "small things done with great love."
As you pick up toys and read stories and play Candyland, or clean up Cheerios, fold clothes and clear the table, see yourself as a vessel of God's love toward your family. Serve from the heart and look for ways to communicate caring to your family. I believe with all my heart that all those small things will add up to something incredible....and you WILL see the fruit of your labor in time. You ARE doing a great thing....in small ways every day.
What small things will you do with great love today? How does having a "great love" perspective change how you do your tasks?
Song of the Day: I will Always Love You, Whitney Houston
