Little Things Sometimes Mean Big

I was busily cleaning out my study desk when a paper fell out from my notebook. It was a little drawing someone gave me as a token of appreciation for what I did for him. I had long planned to paste it to my journal and thanks to that miraculous find I was finally able to do it this time.

Little things sometimes mean big for us. Little notes and little acts of kindness are enough to change a world view, to shift a paradigm, to brighten a world. So many people complain that the world is violent. Perhaps it is time once again we millions could inject it with little good things to make it better.

Little by Little (with a Mop)

I am feeling sleepy and tired this morning as I dragged myself to the dorm to do my chores. The mop seemed a ton heavier than usual. The will to clean is as dry as the late-summer June air enveloping me. This is one of those days when you feel the "drag". Cleaning the whole floor area seemed like an impossible task. It would take forever.

I racked up my brains to find some inspiration to fight the dull air. I remembered that in moments where facing a great challenge seems impossible, in this case mopping the dorm floor, it takes little by little to finish the job. Heavy as it seems, I took the mop by the handle and painstakingly mopped the floor. It took forever it seems but as I went on and on, I saw how much progress I have made.

Sweat fell like torrent in the humid dorm room. Back and forth, back and forth, I went on and on and on. I began slow but as looked at how much I have done already I picked up the pace and five minutes before the bell rang, I finally did the impossible. Whew! It was a tough job to begin with, a challenge to keep on, and self-fulfilling to accomplish.

Life is just like that. There are things that seems impossible to start but we have to start doing it anyway. After all, a journey of a thousand miles begin with a simple step. Experiencing the "drag" may discourage us but keeping the will to go on will begin a positive cycle that will build on the previous step how little it might be. Sooner we will be shocked to find ourselves flying through life in swift and bounding leaps.

Maybe when we feel a little discouraged, we should pick up a mop and start cleaning.

It is the Lord who Calls

I was just talking with the KOA of Majada under the Acacia Tree fronting the chapel while waiting for the tricycle ride back to the Post Novitiate when a van stopped and opened its window. A lay minister was inside inviting to give me a ride back to the very door step of Don Bosco. I was quite happy to oblige since it would save me the hassle and around P20.00 of fare.

We had a good chat with the lay minister as he was driving. He was sharing to me his experiences of serving the parish for some two years already. He had a colorful life. He wasn't very keen in participating more in Church at first, in fact he was evasive to invitations. Not until he had a turn in his life that he opted to serve as a lay minister and bringing God to the people.

It is really the Lord who calls, not us who choose to be called. He calls whoever he wills. Among the Salesians, there are engineers, dentists, and accountants who suddenly dropped their tools of trade to answer the voice from within. It's a mysterious and personal encounter that makes a 180 degree turn. Vocation is a personal, unmerited, and unique gift of God to a person. It comes from the Latin word, vocare, which means 'to call'. This call, surprisingly takes on many forms and many paths. We only need to listen well.

All of us are called by the Lord. I pray that when we hear the call we would answer it with faith and trust.