Drop in the Bucket

 

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all of the physical suffering that is happening around our world?  Do you ever look at all of the sadness and horror and just shrink back?   Do you ever render yourself helpless in the face of all that needs to be done, thinking to yourself “What difference will my little part make?”

 

Many days, I feel like I’ve done nothing of substance.   Unfortunately, my tendency is to judge my success in terms of accomplished items rather than works-in-progress.    As I’ve told you many times in the past, Honduras has challenged everything about my ‘tendencies.’

 

How am I instead to evaluate my days?   

 

As I read back over the blog repost which talked about our purpose here, I was struck with a needed reminder.    My Dad says my blog is like ‘group therapy without a group.’    It does feel that way when I go back and read something I’ve written and ask myself ‘Who has hijacked my blog, because I certainly don’t remember thinking or writing that?’   Those very same words and thoughts from a year ago bring clarity to me today.

 

So…  how do I evaluate my days?

 

By the ONE… the ONE God who knows my limits; the ONE smile I didn’t want to share, but did;   the ONE child who I got to snuggle on for just one more minute;   the ONE child of mine who I was able to teach one more thing;   the ONE child who yelled my name in Spanish  (Laaaaoooooooda) 15 times until I looked at his perfect aim with his slingshot ;the ONE more knock at the door that caused me to roll my eyes and sigh;   the ONE more hand that asked for something small that I happened to have stashed away for a rainy day …  back to the ONE.

 

I’ll never be a pastor of a megachurch, influencing the multitudes to follow Christ.  It is a certainty, that I will never be a televangelist with influence to millions of viewers.  It is highly unlikely that I’ll ever write a book that speaks to thousands.    And yet, should the focus of my job be any different from the pastor or author… shouldn’t they be looking at every single ONE, too?  Not the mass of humanity, but the individual ONE?

 

My tasks are small and they often feel like a drop in the proverbial bucket.   But, nonetheless, a drop.

 

And without every single, individual drop, the bucket never overflows.