Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Little Things Challenge

I keep getting little presents from God (or at least I think they're from God), it's making me happy. :) I only have a couple more minutes before my Western Literary Heritage class starts (the one for which I had to read 200+ pages of The Iliad -- not the Odyssey) so I will keep this brief.

I want you to remember that it's the little things you do or that you encounter that can make a difference. After getting home from my rotten day, I was able to play with the 8-month old baby girl downstairs and that instantly boosted my spirits. Just holding her and making her giggle was enough for me. After feeling like the Lone Ranger in this school, a young woman whom I didn't know told me (after learning I had anxiety and panic disorder) that I ever needed someone to have lunch with, to let her know. A simple smile from a random stranger when you're having a rotten day does wonders. We all have the power to make a difference in someone's life with the smallest things imaginable. The problem is that we all forget to do that. When we're having a rotten day or are so caught up in our own troubles, we seem to forget about everyone but ourselves. Having said that, I'd like to issue a little challenge to everyone who reads this blog (including to myself).

Today, try to do something for someone and then keep that deed to yourself. It doesn't have to be some big thing. Like I said, a smile to a stranger is sometimes all that is needed. I've known people who have suffered depression that were grateful for a simple greeting or a smile from someone as they were walking by. If you're not going out or interacting with people today, why not pray for someone? There are many souls in purgatory that we can pray for, why not pray a decade of the Rosary for them? Why not pray a "Hail Mary" for your mothers? Trust me, even these things are big blessings. Having a crummy day? Why not offer up whatever it is that's making the day stink? Little things help, even if you never really see it for yourself.

The second part of the challenge is to keep it to yourself. We live in a world where most people don't feel right doing something unless they get some sort of praise out of it. If you do a good deed for someone, keep it to yourself. There is no need for ego boosting. Just do something good for someone because it's the Christian thing to do. The only good thing I've taken out of my classes so far (Ha!) is that we should reflect God to others. Why not do this by taking the challenge I've given y'all? Think about it. ;)

Alright, well, I have 20 minutes to walk out of where I'm sitting and head to a different floor for my Literature class. Thank God they've cancelled my morning classes next Tuesday so I can catch up on the reading. Thank God, literally, for this little thing that will make all the difference for me (and my sanity, lol). :D

I hope y'all have a great day!

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless!

1 comment:

NCSue said...

Excellent challenge!

One of the little things I sometimes do is to pray for people I pass in the hallways (or whatever) if they look troubled in some way. Just a quick prayer asking God to touch their distress. No one need know, but it's a way of doing a small anonymous kindness that also serves to keep me connected to God in a small way as I go through my day.