Do you ever think that someday you are going to do great things for God? I have to admit I have often thought that and now, at 70 years old, I still sometimes think it. I suppose there is nothing wrong with that unless I, in waiting for that big chance, am missing doing the little things.
One of the most admired persons in my lifetime was Mother Theresa. She once said, “We cannot all do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” ~ Mother Teresa.Jan 31, 2017. She began just going outside her convent to help the poor that went hungry outside her doors.
I remember as a law clerk, after law school. I worked for a judge in downtown Atlanta. We lived in an Atlanta suburb. I commuted into town for work each day. If I got to work too early I would have to step over and around people, who slept on the streets of Atlanta. By 9, when most everyone was in town for work, the sleepers had all disappeared. I don’t know where they went during the day and never interacted with any of them or thought that much about it. How many opportunities to do something small with love did I miss?
On many other occasions, I have done something for another, things I really didn’t have to do. I often failed to do them with love. Anyone around would know I was going out of my way to do a good deed. I’m not a great example of Matthew 3:6: “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”
The bottom line maybe is that there are really no “small things.” Whether we are talking about our positive acts or our slights and hurts. Everything counts. What is quickly forgotten by me, may forever impact someone else.
Let’s do all things, big or small, with great love.
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