A thank-you to the Lord

” And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” (Colossians 3:23)

There are moments, as when we are watching a beautiful sunset or when a loved one strokes an arm in passing, which we do not hesitate to think of as gifts from God. Then there are times we choose to see it as tedious, like when work in unappreciated or when we are stuck in the company of someone we might think is boring. Those times are no less gifts from God. He is beside us always. The only difference is in how we behave, in how grateful we are.

Brother Lawrence, a seventeenth-century lay brother in Carmelite monastery, practiced “the presence of God”. Believing God was always with him, Lawrence turned the washing of the dishes and the repairing of sandals into acts of worship - simple things he would give his best to as a thank-you to the Lord.

It it is easy to think you are working for the Lord when you are on some great quest. It is much more difficult to find a purpose in menial chores or to find a child of God in a self-centered bore.

But believe in the presence of God, and there is nothing you can do that cannot also be an opportunity to raise a smile upon high.