Manda is a chocolate connoisseur who treads ground as a runner on Canadian soil to keep the calories down. She is passionate about women walking in their God-given beauty and freedom in Christ. Well aware that sanctification is a life long process, she walks daily by the grace of God. This 30 year old, fun-loving Jesus chick, married her husband at just 19 years old. She is the mother to two daughters, Anna (9) and Paige (6), and blogs daily about her own imperfections, personal struggles, faith, and victories at There is a Time.
We walked the streets of Jasper in May. Our little family get-away. Snow-topped mountain peeks hedge this National Park. The air a bit crisp. The sun bright. Our little beauties skipped ahead, full of vigor, as my husband and I made conversation along the way. As we strolled in step, he made mention of the street cleaner. “Look,” he motioned, “That’s wonderful. He’s doing such a good job.”
“Yes he is . . . and you noticed.”
I continually encourage this man of mine. I tell him he makes a difference everyday in the lives of his family, his co-workers, his friends. He provides well. He loves extravagant. He serves wholeheartedly. I truly think he is an incredible man.
In the mundane of everyday, I know he questions if he is doing enough. I get it. I wonder if I am enough or if I am doing enough. All. The. Time. Am I making the most of my life? Am I making a difference? Is there something else I could be doing? Should be doing?
As we looked at this man who was a stranger, my husband broke with emotion. Gratitude and contentment simultaneously showed up on his face. I could tell my words touched something deep.
If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.
~Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Several weeks ago, I printed this quote and had it framed. I took it with me to my husband’s office: a little hope sealed behind glass and an ivory matte. I placed it on his desk, for him to read, to view, to be uplifted. Daily or anytime he needed that reminder, it would be there. For his eyes to read and his heart to believe.
No matter what the job. Small or Large. No matter how big or insignificant a job may seem, we can do it with excellence. We can make a difference.
We never spoke a word to the man who was picking up garbage. As he leaned down to grab scraps of paper and trash that people tossed away, he was creating a clean, blissful atmosphere within this little town. He probably goes about his days without much recognition or thanks. Not much notice.
He gave us more then a tidy sidewalk to stroll on, that day. He gave us a picture of true greatness. Distinction. A street sweeper who did his job well.
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