Living the Little Way

01 February, 2015

Special Guest Post by Huffington Post writer Amy Cummins

“God would never inspire me with desires which cannot be realized; so in spite of my littleness, I can hope to be a saint.”

- The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux

In the Scriptures, Jesus demonstrates over and over again that “for God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26, NABRE). Yet no matter how many times we’ve heard this, do we truly believe it deep in our hearts? Are we confident, for example, that the Lord is able to achieve in us the perfection of holiness to which we’re all called?

Sometimes when I read about Paul’s extraordinary work for the Church or call to mind the lives of other famous heroes of the Bible, I’m filled with a desire for holiness and to do great things for God, but inwardly I feel too small and incapable of achieving such goodness. I sometimes wonder if it’s even possible for God to use such a small soul to make any differencein the world.

Perhaps because of these doubts, Thérèse of Lisieux, a French Carmelite nun at the end of the 18th c., is a favorite saint of mine. She, too, never believed she was a great soul, but with an inspiring childlike faith, she placed all her confidence in God's promises and strove to serve Jesus in even the smallest things. The saint never gave up any chance to serve God, and worked to do even the most mundane tasks with abundant love.

This habit of seeking holiness in the ordinary and the everyday has become known as Thérèse's “little way.” I love this simple practice because it reminds me not only to live confidently in God's love for me, but also that each of our relationships and daily assignments is truly an opportunity for us to manifest our love for Jesus and for others. All things can become practices of love if we let them, whether that means offering our best smile when we don't feel like it, giving a kind and encouraging word to someone we have a hard time getting along with, or even just being diligent in our work when we want to give into distractions.

If we trust in the Lord and seek to please Him at all times, He will never let us down. All things are indeed possible with God.
Do you believe it?

 

Amy Cummins and Paige Weslaski are dear friends and Alpha Phi sorority sisters. They share a deep love of Jesus & froyo.