When Michelle first asked me to write a little bit about what “do small things with great love” means to me, I was happily surprised. That quote means a lot to me, and I actually have a similar quote from Mother Teresa “do ordinary things with extraordinary love” in my bio on my Instagram because it speaks so much to me.
A little bit about myself, I’m a stay at home mom to two kids, I have a 3yo daughter and a 1yo son. I have been married for almost 6 years now, 5 of those we were living the Navy life and now we are out and living in SC. Growing up, and even now, I have always felt like I need to be the ‘light’ or bring the happy to every situation. It matters to me if people are happy, and I strive to create positivity in everyone’s day. That is where doing small things with great love began for me. Whether it was staying up late to decorate for someone in my family’s birthday, or being there for a friend when they needed help, I wanted to do it because I knew it would bring them joy.
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When I think about what God asks of us in our daily lives, it’s essentially a bunch of small tasks, but it’s doing those tasks with great love that makes the difference. Going to church on Sunday’s, it’s a small task to go for an hour out of your entire week, but truly being present and giving yourself over for that hour makes a difference. Praying, such a small task He asks of us, but doing so with love and purpose- it makes a difference. I don’t think there is anything He asks of us that isn’t doing something small, but with great love.
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Something that just happened to me recently at Holy Thursday mass is a wonderful example. Holy Thursday mass started at Lochlan’s bedtime, so we already knew it was going to be kind of rough, and it was. He was tired and really just wanted to be asleep. Cody and I had been taking turns holding him off to the side, and on one of my turns a woman in the last pew turned around to me, smiled, and said, “you’re doing a great job”. Just that short simple small phrase. And that small phrase made everything melt away, all of the inevitable thinking everyone can hear your baby crying, that everyone is watching how stressed out you are trying to keep your mask on embarrassment, all of it. It didn’t matter, her small act of reaching out with great love totally changed that evening for me.
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My parents have always been my inspiration. My parents did so much for us. They still do so much for us, so many small– and large- things. We always knew growing up how lucky we were to have them, and still are. Because of them I know, without a doubt, I am meant to be a mom. Right here at home with my kids is where I know God has chosen me to be. And because of my parents, I know exactly the type of mom I want to be for our kids. If I can do small things with great love for them daily, that’s what they’ll remember, and that is what will make the difference. I once read somewhere, that at the end of the day all you see is how messy the house is, how often the kids were upset, that big glass of water that got dumped all over the floor– but what your kids see is how much fun they had playing with you all day, how many kisses and snuggles they got when they felt sad, and all the silliness and jokes about slipping and sliding on the floor. ♥️ It’s the small things that count, it’s the small things that will make a difference. In our children’s lives and in His hopes for us.
♥️Chloe
Nice article. It’s so wonderful that in the small things is where we truly find God! Thank you for sharing!