I was recently looking through some old pictures and was instantly drawn to this one—a picture of my mom putting on my shoes. This is a task she likely did thousands of times, but of which I don’t remember any. With five kids in our home, I thought of the thousands upon thousands of times I had done the same task and how, like me, not one of the kids would remember. How odd and somewhat sad that such a frequent and caring act by my mom would be forgotten so easily. I instantly felt a connection to her. I could relate to the feelings of insignificance such a task can have, and also to the frustration she had possibly just experienced over having had to wrangle me to sit down so she could put on my shoes, again.
But, despite how mundane and insignificant those moments may seem, I was struck by how essential, meaningful, and beautiful they really are. Each of the consistent, small, caring, sacrificial acts of my mom (and of my dad, teachers, friends, family, neighbors, strangers, and co-workers) has been like a good deposit the Lord has used to build me into the woman I am. So, as I get ready to celebrate my 41st birthday this month, I look back with thankfulness for all the people God has placed in my life and for every forgotten, seemingly meaningless, and mundane task each of those people has done on my behalf. As adapted from a quote I read in an article recently, “The profound influence you have had on me comes not in spite of seemingly small work in small places, but precisely because of it.” Thank you!
By Katie Miller
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