Faith: Find thankfulness in the little, everyday things

“What have you done today to justify your existence” spoke a character in one of Mary Gordon’s novels. Whoa! I was so taken aback reading this that I nearly lost the thread of the story.

Such a pointed remark can make us wonder how we spend our time and worry about our very worth on planet earth. Non-thinkers and youngsters might not yet entertain this life-altering question. While those pleasure-seekers who live merely for themselves might not really care at all to consider this philosophical query.

Is it enough for us just to marvel that we exist? We are alive thanks to some divine plan or deity, which I call God. From His generosity He brought us into being and our parents played their worldly part.

Knowing deep down that there is no way of justifying our existence, we still try. So prompted by our gratitude — how do we choose to live out this miracle? Each of us is unique, one body, one mind, one soul with distinct talents and personalities. What are we called to do to contribute to the whole?

Gordon’s word, “today” is rather easy to get our arms around. It means that for a short period of time, we have the chance to do good or choose less than good. But when the sun sets, and we sleep, we begin again with a new opportunity to consider how we will live. It is a remarkably flexible calendar within today and tomorrow time frames. So we can’t rest on our laurels. Nor can we despair that we are failures. What a wonderful system of accountability for humans!

The word used in the novel by Gordon, “justify” is harder to embrace. In common parlance, according to the Oxford Dictionary, to justify means to be “right or reasonable.” In theology, Oxford states this means, “declare or make righteous in the sight of God.”

How can I? How can we know how we appear in God’s sight? He is beyond our understanding. Thus we turn to our faith, our path, supplemented by grace to follow the two great commandments:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.” — Matthew 22: 36-40.

Practically, interpreting this, we act concretely. We are bodies set in time, not spirits. Our beliefs are solidified not by saying, but by doing. “What have you done today to justify your existence?”

I’ve been blessed again and again to witness goodness and everyday doings honoring God and neighbor. Here are some works and ways I’ve noticed:

“I breast-fed my child.”

“I tutored a struggling reader.”

“I celebrated Mass in a county jail.”

“I prayed for the unloved.”

“I went to a nursing home and visited with people who have no visitors.”

“I swept my porch and my friend’s, too.”

“I listened to a teenager who was lost.”

“I prayed for the dying.”

“I showed a young child how to tie a shoe.”

“I repaired a ripped seam.”

“I called an elderly aunt.”

“I prayed for the lonely.”

“I planted pansies and praised God for their velvet petals.”

“I walked through the woods and thanked God, who imagined trees.”

“I wrote a poem grateful for the wonder of words and the largess of language.”

“I prayed for peace.”

“I rocked a baby.”

“I read 'The Liturgy of The Hours.”

“I prepared a meal once again for my family.”

“I prayed for mercy and extended mercy.”

“I cleaned up the kitchen after the Thanksgiving feast.”

“I drove an old man to a medical appointment.”

“I forgave past grievances and forgave myself for focusing on them.”

“I prayed for humility.”

“I flew a kite with my grandchildren.”

“I sang a hymn in church with heart-felt reverence.”

“I smiled at an un-sheltered person and asked what he needed.”

“I prayed for courage.”

“I made several pumpkin pies, savored a slice, and then packaged the rest for those without.”

“I comforted a grieving widow, and we held hands.”

“I gave thanks for everything — my birth, the gift of being, of belonging, and all things made bearable and beautiful by grace.”

As Mother Teresa said: “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”

Judy Knotts is a parishioner of St. John Neumann Catholic Church, and former head of St. Gabriel's Catholic School and St. Michael's Catholic Academy. Her newest book, "You Are My Brother," is a collection of past American-Statesman faith columns.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Faith: Find thankfulness in the little, everyday things