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Tina Mayeux shares about Saint Teresa of Avila’s teaching that God’s will is often found in our daily duties.  


There is a corner in our kitchen where a mound of perpetual clutter resides. It is a catch-all area for all the important things I don’t want to lose, strategically placed near my planner: “organized chaos,” if you will. Occasionally, I sort through the mess and clear off the pile of paid and unpaid bills, receipts, appointment reminders, and other random items, leaving it neat and orderly for a brief time, but, inevitably, over time, the pile somehow magically reappears, bringing with it additional papers and various odds and ends and growing in size.  

This haphazard system of keeping track of documents is less than optimal in my husband’s opinion. When it gets out of hand, he will drop a hint about how I should declutter the area. Although I would much rather spend the time another way, I usually realize that this boring, mundane task is probably the first thing I should tackle — before engaging in other, more enjoyable undertakings. While my will is to ignore the mess for another day, if I am honest with myself, I am sure God’s will for me in the moment is to do what is more difficult and organize my pile of clutter.  

 

God is found in our daily duties

There is a well-known saying of Saint Teresa of Avila that “the Lord walks among the pots and pans” (The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, Vol III, p. 120). This declaration of the great Carmelite saint and Doctor of the Church reminds us that God is found not only in silence and prayer, but also in our daily duties. The saint always advised her nuns to be faithful in obedience to God’s will, even when it is difficult and contrary to what they desire or will for themselves.

Carmelite nuns like Saint Teresa practice obedience to their superiors as a means of knowing what they should do. As lay people living out our vocation as mothers, it can be difficult to know God’s will in the everyday decisions of our lives. How do we discern what He is calling us to in each moment of our lives?  

As a busy wife and mother, there are many times when I would rather be sitting with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, enjoying quiet time in spiritual reading, or praying the Rosary than performing the tasks that are right in front of me. I have learned, however, that if there is a sink full of dishes or a pile of laundry needing washing, it is probably better for me to forego the Holy Hour and do the housework first, so that my home and family are taken care of. According to Saint Teresa, if we are called to fulfill family obligations or involvement in external works, God is more pleased that we attend to our responsibilities, and we can find Him in fulfilling them.  

 

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When my children ask for help with some task or need a ride to the store or to meet friends, by lending them the assistance they need, I remind myself that I am giving them that cup of cold water that Jesus speaks about in Matthew’s Gospel:

"Whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:42)

 

We can be comforted knowing that God’s will is built into our vocation as wives and mothers. As often as we willingly and lovingly perform little acts of service for our spouses and children, we are fulfilling His will for our lives and contributing to the good of our families.  

 

Faithfulness in small things

After staring at my expanding pile of clutter in the kitchen for days, I finally confronted it and managed to clear off the surface, much to my husband’s surprise and delight. It was a minor task, but the feeling of satisfaction it gave me afterward was worth the inconvenience in finally taking it on. In choosing to do God’s will (and my husband’s) over my own, I was exercising charity and obedience to what I believe was the best course of action. I realized that by consistently being faithful to the small tasks God sets before me, I am training myself to conform to His will in the bigger, more consequential responsibilities.   

 

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Copyright 2024 Tina Mayeux
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