STAY, in the Breath

“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.” ― Mother Teresa

It would be a fool’s way to come to the end of my day despising the little things, the little ways.

But I do.

It would be a sorry sin to say, “no thank You” to the adventure of diaper changing, feet washing, tear kissing or frigidair stocking, thinking somehow an adventure “out there” would make a “bigger” difference in this crying world.

But I have.

It would be travesty—false, absurd, and distorted representation of truth—to think of prayer as “the least I can do” as though it is a piddly offering of second class rate.

Of this, I am guilty.

But not today. Today, I choose to believe that my “little” with great love is all He was waiting for to move heaven and earth. I believe it.

Today, I give thanks to God with my whole heart, for the “mundane”. Not just because I am not experiencing a tragedy, rather because I am experiencing treasure.

Today, I’ve been given the gift of shaping the inner caverns of a heart through my tenderness, awareness or lack thereof. Today, in my faithfulness I teach faithfulness. Today in my self-discipline I pass on strength. Today, when I realize in my weakness He is strong, and not just get tied up in a knot over my own shortcomings (and fears!) then I will teach humility and grace.

This is what the world needs now. Mothers who will die to ourselves, so that we can find ourselves SO filled with life that we have life overflowing to give. This kind of love—there’s no limits to the changes in our world to be wrought.

Today, I will pray. Not just say I will. I will pray for my children and my children’s children. I’ll pray on my knees and I’ll pray with my feet, my actions speaking so much louder than my words. I’ll pray for the displaced mother’s children, my sisters and brothers and their children, my nieces and nephews by blood or by truth. I’ll pray for where there is war, hunger, fear and pain. I won’t have left my own stomping grounds but I’ll have touched the other side of the world. Oh yes, I will have.

I’m not good at this friends, I’m not even awake to it half the time. I miss so much. We can each only do what we are aware of at the moment. Is this a moment of awareness? Then we must do something with it and pray that it will grow to more moments. It can, it will and we don’t have to be afraid of that.

To live with great care is only a burden when we do not understand the greatness of our calling. My prayer for each of us today is for understanding, realization of our power as world changers and then after that to realize it again.

One step at a time, one tear wiped and boo-boo kissed at a time, one load of laundry, one more meal served, one cup of cool water, one more instruction or discipline given at a time, one more patient listening, this is what is asked of us. To be like Jesus, let the little children come and learn from them how to receive the very kingdom of God.

This is hard in the daily details. And this is everything.

“I need vision beyond myself to see the reality of Your kingdom, to realize: Your burden is easy, Your yoke is light, to realize Your invitation to walk in the garden here and now in the cool of the day—lest I hide.” —from day three, Pray, Like a Woman in Labor

Shaping the world with you today,
Raynna

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