St. Therese of Lisieux made a point of going the extra mile in kindness towards those people who really got under her skin. It was part of her own brand of Everyday Stewardship — thanking God for all His creation, even the parts with which, in her own humanness, she struggled to cope.
I think about this a lot when I challenge myself to give thanks for things that bother me and people who challenge me. When I do this, I envision Christ giving thanks over those insufficient loaves. How many of us would see that paltry little basket and kick a rock in frustration because we can’t feed all our people? “You didn’t give me enough, Lord! You didn’t give me enough patience, enough money, enough creativity, enough stamina to be a good steward. If you had given me more, I could also give more!”
In those moments of despair, we need to take a good look at the life God has given us. We need to look at the trials and the challenges and the shortcomings. The hopes that didn’t pan out, the disappointments that keep cropping up. Somewhere therein lies what we need to be the steward God asks us to be, just as St. Therese’s own stewardship was defined by the people she simply couldn’t stand.
God does not give us all we want. He does not give us all we ask for. He does us one better: He gives us all we need. It’s all in the basket.
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