Wiping down counters…
I find myself sitting here in the cafeteria of a car dealership, waiting on my car to be serviced.
It is a healthy 2 hour long drive to get here to this place. Yes, 2 hours.
I don’t have the heart to leave my trusty service technician. He’s trustworthy and honest.
Not to mention, the place offers food and drinks and free wifi while I wait.
So, here I am!
On the long drive here, I drive through Madison, the town we just moved from.
My kids grew up in Madison, and we lived a lot of life there.
Every time I get to the county line, I feel a swoosh of peace wash over me.
Sentiments, nostalgia, and memories come flooding. I cannot help but smile as I pass the old familiar roads and places.
Not only did my kids grow up there, in a way, my husband and I did as well.
We were fresh in our parenting years when we took the plunge to move to a quieter and smaller town. People thought we were crazy…perhaps we were.
Looking back, we would not change a thing about that small town life. The people, the places, the memories….shaped us.
I stopped at the Chicfila to grab a drink as I was passing through.
Walking through the door, I was hit once again with memories.
The early early mornings I spent there with my kids before school. Talking about life, and relationships, and faith…and all the things.
The late nights we spent at that same Chicfila, after practices, volleyball games, soccer games, basketball games…
It also was the place we hosted our very first bible study with a handful of friends back in 2010.
Lump in my throat, I made my way to the bathroom.
The thoughts swirling through my head were, “Did we leave this place better than we found it?”
It is a question I keep hearing deep down in my heart.
Desperately, I want to leave things better than I found them.
Even little things, like going to a public bathroom. I am really trying to be more intentional about cleaning up things I see that need attention.
Wiping down the counter, or just making sure the stalls have paper.
I know, I know. It seems silly.
But, I am trying to be faithful in the smallest of things.
When I read this passage of scripture recently, it hit me hard in the heart and it made me really ponder what it means.
“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities.” Luke 16:10
Daily, I am asking God to help me to leave things better than I found them.
To be faithful in the smallest of things.
This also means relationships.
Am I striving for peace? Am I an encourager? Am I present when others are with me? Do I leave people better than I found them?
So, as I walked into that Chicfila bathroom, my mind swirls with this question.
Memories flood of prayer walks around the schools with my friends. Before my kids even hit the middle and high school, we were praying circles around it.
We prayed for our teachers, our parents, our kids, our churches, our community.
Lord, let those prayers continue to produce fruit, I mutter under my breath as I close the stall behind me.
In this new season of life, empty nesting, I find myself praying the same things.
We are in a new neighborhood, with new people, new friends, new places to visit and do life…
Lord, please help us to leave this place better than we found it.
As I pray this prayer, I also look for opportunities. Small ones, not big ones.
It challenges me daily.
I am so thankful for God’s Word that pierces to the core of my heart. It exposes all the dirt and grime that needs to be cleaned out.
God’s Word brings light to places that need attention.
It is always for our good.
What areas do you need to leave something better than you found it?
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24
still looking for opportunities,
jill
