Measuring Up
Bigger, better, best. That seems to be our mindset. It was ours when we wanted a car that could hold seven people. I drove that sweet ride for nearly 11 years. My mindset changed. Smaller suddenly became best when I was looking for a new car. Is it just me or does it seem parking spaces have shrunk in size? AND, with sky-rocketing gas prices, my tank was costing more to fill it up. Now, I have a sweet new ride that easily fits in parking spaces and costs way less to fill it up.
Most people live on striving for something big, bigger, or biggest. You know what I mean. The big car, the big catch, the huge promotion, the most full-efficient car, the cleanest house, being the senior class valedictorian, the first chair in the band, largest office in the complex, the most pristine yard in the neighborhood, or in the case of my apartment home’s residents and their vegetable garden plots — the best crop harvest!
Oh, the pressures we put on ourselves to BE, DO and HAVE, all the while putting ourselves into a “measuring up” mentality. Along with the great expectations we put on our own shoulders, we also think that God is holding out His yardstick measuring us. You’ve probably heard the quote: “Who you are is God’s gift to you, but what you make of yourself, is your gift to God.” I love that quote, but inside that quote is “what YOU make of yourself”. That’s pressure no matter how you look at it. But in the light of pleasing God — no way — no how — does He measure us that way!
I sense God unveiling a marvelous “freedom from striving” lesson today. Rather than thinking about God’s expectations for us, we should realize how much He takes pleasure in us when we are simply living and being in each day, not in the pressure of BIG accomplishments or achieving first place in anything.
I recall Saint Therese of Lisieux (affectionately known as the “Little Flower”) who was known for her “little ways” of pleasing God and others. St. Therese became a Carmelite nun at the age of 15. With characteristic humility, she wrote in her memoir, “Story of A Soul”, about doing everything in life, especially the little things, out of love for God and for our neighbors. She showed so much love for our Lord in answering His call for humility and service that she made the ordinary extraordinary!
Therese saw herself as “the Little Flower of Jesus” because, not like a brilliant rose or elegant lily, she was just like the simple wild flowers in forests and fields, unnoticed by the greater population, yet growing and giving glory to God. This is how she understood herself before the Lord — blooming where God had planted her. Her “little way” teaches us to do the ordinary things of life with extraordinary love. A smile, a note of encouragement, a phone call, always having a positive word, a simple unnoticed task to brighten the life of another, and so many other simple deeds, done with love. The smallest action, done with love, is more important than great deeds done for personal glory, gratification or simply out of obedience. Even in prayer, Therese teaches simplicity – talking to God and Jesus in direct, personal and heartfelt ways. She didn’t like long prayers. She fell asleep during community prayer. She prayed from her heart as a child speaks honestly and trustingly to a parent they love. Therese was faithful to the Gospel of Jesus and the core of His message.
While God probably didn’t call us to be a cloistered nun outside of the realm of competition and achievements, I think that the verse that describes how God measures our ways is best found in Proverb 3:5,6 “TRUST in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding, but IN ALL YOUR WAYS, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” God’s measuring stick isn’t a measuring stick at all, it’s a bulldozer that clears the roads for His kids who in all their LITTLE WAYS acknowledge Him.