Small Things; Great Love

Hello Sailors! 
 
During this time while we are away from campus, it can be hard to feel connected to your class and to the MDSA community. For the next few weeks, I will be sending out something to you each day from Campus Ministry to help lift your spirits and keep you feeling connected to the Lord and to this community. If you have any ideas of things you might like to see please send them my way! 
 
In the spirit of our typical Service Tuesdays, today I am going to give you a challenge. When we think of service, it can be tempting to picture foreign mission trips or even your regular quarterly service projects. But sometimes we forget that service can – and must! – start in our very own homes.  
 
I can speak from personal experience—sometimes it can be much easier to make a bagged lunch for someone suffering than to play a board game with your younger sibling who has been getting on your nerves. It can be so much easier to pray from a distance for the unborn than to obediently do the dishes like your mom or dad asked you to.  
 
Mother Teresa offered some beautiful advice when she said: 
 
It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home, for this is where our love for each other must start.” 
 
In this season where we physically cannot go out and serve those in our local community, I want to challenge you to look right in your own home for opportunities to love and serve your family. Choose one simple thing to do tonight or tomorrow morning to serve your family—even if being quarantined with them is driving you a little bit crazy 😉 Some ideas could be: 
  • Loading the dishwasher without your parents having to ask you (and without demanding a thank-you in return) 
  • Folding whatever is in the dryer right now, even if it's not yours
  • Offering your siblings the snack you made for yourself 
  • Playing a board game with your siblings and/or parents (let them choose the game) 
  • Let your siblings and/or parents choose the show or movie you will watch tonight. If you were planning to watch Netflix or Disney+ by yourself, go into the family room and watch together
  • Offer to clear the dinner table tonight  
  • Write your parent a thank-you note for the ways they are sacrificing for you or taking care of you in this season 
When done in love, even small things like this can make a huge impact on someone's day. Email me with any glory stories of service gone well, or send me any of your own creative ideas for loving your family right at home! I would love to hear from you. 
 
Sending love and prayers,  
 
Miss Bolesta 
 
Campus Minister
Mount de Sales Academy
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Mount de Sales Academy

Academic Excellence in the Catholic Tradition