"Brighten The Corner Where You Are."

I love my job. Most days it’s really fun to help people give money away and I’m definitely on the better end of the giving/receiving money deal! But sometimes it’s frustrating how slowly change happens. We often don’t see the fruits of our labor for years and years and when we do, it’s hard to say just what moved the needle forward. I can so easily get lost in the big picture and fail to revel in the magic of baby steps - both at work and in my personal life.

On a recent plane trip I was reading Ties that Bind by Dave Isay (have your tissues ready!), given to me by my boss with a note that read, "Thanks for always reminding us of what is most important."  Much as I try to keep things in perspective, I'm often living in the anxiety of the future, worried about things I can't know or control.  While reading on the plane, I ran across a phrase that brought my feet right back to the ground. The speaker in this particular chapter referenced a hymn called, “Brighten The Corner Where You Are.” What a novel idea. One corner at a time is not only all it takes but the best each of us can do. We’d be fooling ourselves to think otherwise.

I've been feeling overwhelmed lately trying to squeeze it all in - work, school, keeping the house clean and the household fed, figuring out how to stretch every dollar.  But I'm trying to remind myself all the time of this important lesson and know that it's enough.