Important Things

Riley was at school. The Little Willow was taking a nap. Wilder was kicking his feet in his crib. (It’s how he likes to pass the time.)

And London, Mosely and Bergen were on a mission.

A mission to help.

They were scurrying around the house, looking for Things To Do.

They offered to tidy the living room.

I let them.

That wasn’t enough though. They wanted more work.

I suggested they carry the little red bucket we keep dirty kitchen laundry in and put all of that little red bucket’s contents into the washing machine.

They were excited to do it.

(I am not making this up.)

(Why do I assert that disclaimer so often on this blog?)

(And what’s up with all of these parentheses?)

After unloading the laundry they kept flitting back and forth doing other odd jobs at my request. All the while wearing sweet smiles and laughing as they worked together.

I thought maybe all of this unexpected generosity of spirit was a sign. Was the world ending? Had they all suffered from some sort of head injury that I missed? What did they want?

I inquired of these cherubic small humans, “What’s going on today?”

And London answered for the group.

(Because she does that.)

(Just like I overuse parentheses.)

She said,

“We like to do important things.”

Oh.

You know, I actually get that.

From the mouth of a six-year-old budding thinker.

Business Theory. Educational philosophy. Motivational poster material.

“We like to do important things.”

It’s true.

Who wants to spend her life thinking that what she is doing, the bulk of what takes up her day, efforts and time, is not valuable, is unimportant?

Absolutely no one.

We are desperate to believe that what we do matters. That what we do is important. We like to do important things.

And it is precisely when we feel that what we are doing is unimportant, that we lose the joy, the pride in our work itself.

And, of course, we know the lesson is that what we do is important.

All of what we do.

Is important.

And it’s not just important if it is missionary work in a third world country. It’s not only preaching from a pulpit on Sunday mornings or Saturday nights, whenever the cool churches have service these days. It isn’t just writing the next Christian novel or evangelizing on television.

It’s whatever you are doing.

Right now.

In your ordinary (extraordinary) life.

Doing important work starts where you are.

It’s important not because of what you do, but because of why you do it. And who you do it for.

Because we all like to do important things.