A few days ago, my youngest walked into our living room and
announced to me and my husband that his New Year’s resolution was love. Now, I don’t have the faintest idea how he
came up that-we’ve never had any conversation with him (or the older one) about
what a resolution is, and we’ve certainly never given him the idea to make
one-but somehow or another, he knew what it was, and he made one. And you know what else? The kid gets it. Really and truly-that’s what it’s all
about. Love. Just love.
Love your family, your friends, your neighbor, the struggling, the
hurting, the downtrodden. Everyone. Just love.
Anything else will take care of itself.
You know, little ones just seem to get it period. And they do good too, which is, after all,
the point of all of this. I got to be on
the receiving end of it just a bit ago.
You see, over the last year or so, due to illness, I have spent time in
and out of wheelchair. It’s been more
than a bit of struggle for me-I used to be an athlete, and I have always been
active and mobile-so how I self-identify has taken quite a blow. With the help of some really great friends, though,
it’s gotten better, and when I’m in it, I’m learning to just go about my
business as usual, making adjustments when necessary. That being said, in the best of
circumstances, I do not enjoy the spotlight, and sometimes that chair seems to
add to it-and one place in particular is in my job. I am a minister by trade, a while I’m not
the big dog on the church campus, my ministerial duties often require that I
assist at the communion table and that, on occasion, I preach-both of which I
have recently done for the first time with wheels. Hello, self-consciousness!!
After my first seated sermon, I was approached by one of two
nearly three year old twins. Now, these
precious girls are fairly familiar with me.
Their mother is one of my dearest friends, and they attend daycare with
my aforementioned youngest. But I really
just wasn’t sure how they’d react to my being in a wheelchair, especially up
close and personal. The first question
was, naturally, “Why are you in that?”.
I explained to my little friend that my legs were a little sick. And then, the wonderful thing happened: She just smiled at me, said okay, and crawled
right up in my lap like it was the most natural thing ever--so we went for a
little ride. Well, it wasn’t long before
her sister had joined the party, and we went for a ride (followed of course, by
my youngest, who often goes for a ride with me!).
Now, I know this seems like a terribly small thing, but for
me? Well, it made me day! Not only did I get to feel like I did
something “cool” (and trust me, kids, cool is something I have NEVER been!),
but they weren’t put off by anything at all.
They get it from their mom-and their aunt, and the rest of their
family. And let me tell you, that’s a
confidence builder right there, folks! I’m
ready, wheels and all!
I tell this little story to say this. Simple, small things still count. Just bringing a little extra joy to
someone-be it a smile, a hug, even a hello-that’s doing good. We can all do a little good every day. And if we all make a point to be good in the
world, well, it’s going to look like a lot better place to all of us.
Get up and go, my friends!
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