Day 100, April 10

"Do small things with great love."--Mother Theresa

If I have used this quote before, I apologize.  (As I think about it, I've decided to take back that apology because the words are so powerful.)

Do you ever feel that your life will never amount to anything, that you haven't done anything important?  I have.  I question my contributions to my family, to my church, to my community.  After all, what have I--a stay at home mother for more than thirty years--done?

Not much.

These moments of self-doubt and self-pity are not uncommon.  Then I started thinking outside of the box.  (Do you ever wonder what this box is that we are supposed to think outside of?)

No, I'm never going to discover the cure for the common cold or win a Pulitzer prize.  I'm never going to end world hunger or invent something that will change the course of history.  But I can do small things, and, if I'm really in tune with the Spirit, I can do them with great love.

Last week, I was prompted to send a card to a friend.  I didn't write anything profound on it, just that I was thinking of her.  And I think I included a suggestion to do something naughty once in a while--it's good for the soul.  I mailed the card, then didn't think much more about it.

On Sunday, the friend came up to me in church and thanked me for the card, saying it came on a day when she was feeling down.  The incident caused me to think about other small things I could do.  A family in our ward is going through a hard time.  I can't fix their problems, but I can pray for them.  My Aunt Mae, at 89, is reaching the end of her life.  I can't change that, but I can send her flowers and cards.

Joy for today:  doing small things and sometimes even doing them with great love.