It's amazing how quickly time flies! The past few weeks have been a blur of activity - and sometimes it takes being a little under the weather for me to slow down.
The thought that's been bouncing around in my head these last few weeks is taking time to notice the growth we are experiencing every day. Slightly different than just "stopping to smell the roses," this notion of growth calls us to deeper reflection. For example, I just started working part time as a nanny for a 6 month old girl. For anyone who hasn't been a parent, being a full time caregiver for an infant is a very demanding job. They are dependent for every need, and have no real way to communicate any of those needs except for expressing discomfort - usually in the form of very pitiful tears.
Given my life choices, it's obvious that I love to work with children. However, this job is giving me new challenges. In small, every day ways, I've noticed that caring for this child is giving me a deeper capacity to love, purely for the sake of love and not for any returns. Much like working with the very ill and elderly as I did in Lexington, this can be a job of few (communicated) rewards. I find myself growing in the process, though. I find myself desiring to give more - that this little girl is a child of God, and no matter how hard the day is, she is His, and she is loved.
In the example of St. Therese of the Little Flower, I feel we are each called to grow in small ways. To step outside of our comfort zones, even for a minute, to share God's love. It could be a smile with a stranger in the grocery store, or a homeless man on the street, or even with a neighbor who's hands are too full to open their front door. Wherever we are comfortable, we should go one tiny bit further. Our comfort zone will continue to grow. Like any health plan requires daily effort and long term pay-offs, this small every day spiritual growth will blossom in our lives, bringing us closer to the One who made us.
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