Every Little Bit (To All My Sisters Everywhere)

In a few weeks, I'm looking forward to being reunited with sisters (and brothers) from around the world. Some are sisters by blood, some by marriage, all are my sisters in the spirit. Some I see every week, but many I haven't seen in a year or two. However, I think of these sisters often. None of my sisters is likely to make it into a list of the world's most influential people - they're not likely to find themselves on a magazine cover for their incredible accomplishments, but they are still the people I truly admire.

Some of us have the close bonds of shared experience - for some it is chronic illness, for others marriage challenges, yet others share the experience of staring into the abyss of mental breakdown. But even for those who haven't (yet) faced these "big" things, we all share the experience of the daily grind. I believe we have all known at times (unless we are truly living in fantasy land) the discouragement of (many) failure(s), the sense of inadequacy to simply live our day-to-day lives. I think every one of us has been overwhelmed at times by the unbending years that stretch both before and behind us, burdened by a feeling of chronic underachievement.

We live in a world that admires only big things and flamboyant achievements. Most of my sisters won't do anything spectacular in their lives. No solo trips around the world, no raising fourteen children single-handed, no raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity. Next to the people who do these big things we often feel so very small and weak. In the end though, it's not the moments of greatness that count, but every little bit.

The people I truly admire and look up to are my ordinary sisters. You know the ones, the people who just quietly get on with their lives - you're probably one of them. We have to fight against the world every step of the way. The world that tells us that we have to be something extraordinary if we are to be anything at all. So often we can feel discouraged as days melt into weeks, and months and years with little more to show on the outside than all the signs of our battle fatigue - wrinkles and love handles and sagging bits. But what's on the inside? What really counts is every little step we take forward. We're not called to account for where we started on our life's journey, or for where we finished according to the worlds' standards. The true measure of our success is every little bit.

Perhaps you're wondering what on earth I'm talking about. I mean every smile that wanted to be a frown, every hug that wanted to be a slap across the face, every tear we cry for someone else, every gift that we wanted to keep for ourselves, every moment of time given away instead of hoarded for "me" time (yes, I know we all need time to recharge alone, but we also learn that some days the time we have to give someone else is more important than time for ourselves) - all these small victories in the battle against ourselves accumulate over time to create true greatness. The measure of our success is not how we compare to other people - it is how we compare to ourselves yesterday, two weeks ago, three months ago, five years ago...

Reality teaches us that we will fail, we will be inadequate, we will get discouraged and downtrodden. There will be days when we go backwards, but as long as the sum of our journey is moving forwards, that's what counts. Every little bit. Every moment that we admit that we were wrong is a step forward. Every time we bite our tongue instead of chewing off someone's ear is a step forward. Every time we hold our ground with those stubborn little people in our lives is a step forward. Truly, these little things are not so little. The struggle to overcome self in a world that promotes "number one" is not to be underestimated. Yet, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

So, my dear sisters (oh, all right! and brothers, too) everywhere, by all means be ready to acknowledge the dark and ugly parts of yourself, and be ready to admit when you are wrong, but when you feel discouraged - when you feel like you're stuck, just remember, moments of outward greatness are insignificant compared to every little bit of your life.

Grace Is Not A Rubbish Bin

I often hear Christians talk about grace. Sadly, there are times when it seems to be brought up as a justification for doing the wrong thing. While grace does cover our sins, I think we Christians must take care not to use grace as an excuse for all our downfalls or a license to carry on our lives, unchanging.

Grace is not a rubbish bin for us to put in a corner and throw all of our spiritual garbage into. Nor is it a magic lamp that will exempt us from the consequences of our mistakes. Grace is a beautiful gift from the Creator Himself which deserves a place of honour in our homes. It is not the "too-hard-basket" where we put all the things that need to change, but require a lot of hard work. Rather, the magnitude and preciousness of this gift should drive us to grow spiritually far beyond what we would be humanly capable of.

Too often, by our words or actions, we can find ourselves treating Christ's perfect and immeasurable sacrifice with contempt. Grace deserves a place on the mantelpiece, not under the kitchen sink.