Doing Something Great

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute.**

“You were meant to do something great.”     These well-meaning words encourage and propel people to do things that are labeled significant. As I consider these words I wonder what “greatness” is.

    As I parent and discipline my child for the 10th time in a morning, is this great? As I clean up vomit, is this great? As I preach a sermon, is this great? As I travel across the world to serve orphans in Africa, is this great? I wonder if what I am doing, ordinary or extra-ordinary is great.

    I wonder if maybe it is not about being great but about being faithful.

    Maybe we were meant to do everyday, ordinary things for the rest of our lives. Maybe “great” should not be our goal but “faithful” should be. Maybe the ordinary things we do will be turned into something great or maybe they will be just what they are, ordinary and what we are called to.

    How can you encourage someone today who is faithful?

**Sit again in silence for as long as is available to you.**

The Ordinary

**Sit quietly, eyes closed and in silence for one minute before reading.**

    So many times in life I doubt. I doubt whether God can change something around. I doubt that He has the power He says He does. It isn’t even big things I am expecting, it is in the everyday. I doubt He is in the ordinary.

    When I am so weary and unsure how I will respond to others in kindness and love. When I am so frustrated that I cannot view a situation any differently. When my creative problem solving ability has gone out the window and yet there is a situation that requires an immediate answer.

    These situations and many more are our every day. God meets us in the everyday and has power to work in the every day. He works spectacularly, yes. He also works in the ordinary and sometimes I doubt that He can.

    In your doubt, talk to God, tell Him your thoughts and feelings. As you do, ask Him for strength, endurance, creativity and what else you might need for empowerment to live in the ordinary.

**Sit in silence again for as long as is available to you.**