Another day, another month, another school year. Time passes by. Today is much like yesterday, and tomorrow is apt to be like today. Does life ever seem monotonous? Routine? Perhaps even a little dull?
Let’s face it: life can be repetitious. The dishes that were washed yesterday will need to be washed again today. The floor that was sparkling just hours ago will need to be mopped again before you’ve had a chance to enjoy its fresh shine. And little Junior, who you were sure understood long division yesterday, still doesn’t quite get it this morning.
Yes, life can be repetitious, especially for a mom who’s investing in the lives of her children. Very few things a mom does “stay done” for very long, and they’re all clamoring for attention again before she can turn around.
This can be discouraging. But let’s put a slight twist on it and see if we can get a new perspective.
Think about a bricklayer for a moment. His job is monotonous. Every day he lays bricks, one after another, row upon row. Another trowel of mortar, another brick. Today, tomorrow, the next day. Repetition. Monotony. Each brick is small. Alone, not one of them appears to move the project forward very far. None of them is particularly interesting or different. They’re just bricks. Simple blocks of clay.
Will it ever change? Will our friend the bricklayer ever have anything to show for all those hours and days of monotonous routine?
Yes. One day the final brick will be laid. The task will be finished, and a beautiful structure will stand completed. But without the patience of the bricklayer, who was faithful to labor in the small and ordinary, that beautiful structure could never have been raised. Had he insisted that he wanted to do something “bigger” or “more important” than laying all these tiny little bricks, the project would have remained forever unfinished.
Your job is like that bricklayer’s. But instead of a beautiful building, you’re seeking to raise up godly children. Every day you go to lay a few more bricks. A kind word, a home-cooked meal, patience during long division—small, ordinary tasks. Today, tomorrow, the next day.
Taken alone, the task of doing the dishes may not seem like much—but it’s another brick put in place. Giving a compliment for a job well done may seem insignificant—but it’s yet another brick.
Slowly the structure begins to rise from the ground. And somehow, as you see it taking shape, it no longer looks like a jumble of commonplace bricks. You can see order where there was chaos. You can see beauty where none existed before.
The structure isn’t finished yet, but it’s taking shape. There’s still time to work. Another trowel of mortar, another brick. Today, tomorrow, the next day.
It’s during the daily routine—while performing a mother’s ordinary tasks over and over again—that young lives are built.
The extraordinary power of small things is that they begin to add up—slowly, perhaps, but steadily—until the accumulation of all these small things results in something magnificent. Even the ancient Jetavanaramaya stupa—said to be the largest brick structure ever built, containing more than 93 million bricks—had to be built one brick at a time. That’s the power of accumulated small things.
So let us labor with diligence in the work to which God has called us. Today, tomorrow, the next day—brick upon brick, one small, ordinary task after another. One day you’ll be able to step back and admire the beauty of what stands before you.
The Lewis Family
Home School Enrichment