The Important

 

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 43: Today, I am grateful for the important. 

"I want to do important work," I said. "Then smile at people you meet and play with dogs and tuck a blanket around someone who falls asleep." she said. "That's not what I meant I said." "Of course you did," she said. "You just had a smaller idea of important." 

I love this quote. It is so easy to focus on what we cannot do, do not have time to do, or we simply forget that small things are important, too. Whatever our age, health, or season in life... there are small things we can do that qualify as important work. 

When we are tired, it is easy to wish away our current situation, whatever that may be. It is better to count the "important things"  in our current seasons. The decades fly by so fast. 

It is human nature to get a little bored with the mundane. What if focused more on living out the ordinary in our days more like art. Do we see art in our ordinary days? Perhaps it is time to look for it. 

There is art and love in that first cup of tea, coffee, or cacao. It might be in the cup it is offered or the love of the person who prepared it. The scents of our beloved morning beverages are like no other. The hands that prepare it do important work. 

Our love of coffee shops in the USA reflect our delight in someone else preparing the things we could make at home. Familiar faces, a smile, and a kind message written on the cup are worth the time and money to many. It is important work. It is a cup of kindness we can purchase.  

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” – Colossians 3:23

We can pour love into cooking, laundry, and grocery shopping. The tall man at Kroger who helped me reach the too high items I need last weekend paused to ask if there was anything else I needed before he moved on. His smile was friendly and his kindness sincere. To me, it was important work. 

Wiping tears, changing diapers, washing dishes, sharing popcorn, and doing laundry are ordinary things we can do with love. They are important. 

Today, I am grateful for the important.