puppy paw prints
snow day + leaving a mark
Last week, we got quite a big of snow. My little sister had spent the night before at my apartment and got snowed in, which was a special treat. Rocco was especially pleased.
I don’t really like the snow. I only like the fact that when it snows, you have an excuse not to leave the house and can nap and watch movies all day.
Having a dog has changed that. The little buddy needs to go out regularly.
Rocco, however, loves the snow. He frolics in it. He puts his nose in it and breathes deeply. He tries to dig in it. He’s a huge fan.
When it snows, I don’t take Rocco on walks. That’s where we meet halfway. We just go in our own little yard and walk around so he can do his business. Sometimes if I’m in an especially good mood, I’ll take him across the street so he can run around with one of his other puppy friends.
What this means is that when I see puppy pawprints in our yard, I know that they belong to Rocco. I know the footprints belong to me. But when I take him somewhere else and there are prints in the snow, I have absolutely no idea where they came from or to whom they belong.
Last time I wrote to you, I wrote about work. I wrote about how work gives us the opportunity to participate in the creative work of God and about the importance of the dignity of workers.
Now, let’s talk about receiving recognition for that work.
It’s human to want to be recognized and honestly, seeking recognition is probably something that I do a little bit too often. I want to be known and loved (just like everyone) and sometimes I take that a little bit too far.
For a long time, I thought that I wanted to have some kind of large-scale recognition. Some kind of big impact on the world. I didn’t want to focus on what was going on locally, going on right around me, because I had my sights set on bigger things. Last year I actually wrote a little bit about why that’s such a problem.
Here’s the reality: when our work is successful, it is successful only because God has allowed it to be so. Yes, we have collaborated with Him in that work, but He has granted it to us. Everything that we do should be recognizable as belonging truly to Him, with us acting just as the pencil in His hand.
What I’ve learned is that the larger we aim, the more God can get lost in the process. We become a recognizable name more than Jesus. I’ve seen it happen with myself and I’ve seen it happen with friends and it is absolutely lamentable. It becomes harder and harder to recognize the work of God when there are so many other hands in the mix.
However, the smaller we aim, the more we focus on the people who are actually around us, the people who God has placed in our lives.
When we aim for God to be recognized, we can easily disappear in the process. And that is absolutely terrifying, especially for me. However, it does cause me to stop and to question and purify my heart: why am I doing this? For my glory? Or His?
So, I ask the same question to you: What are you working hardest at right now? And Why are you doing it: for your glory or His?
Three Reminders:
I’m working on both giving more glory to God and having enough coffee to glorify Him through my writing. Please, if you can, become a paid subscriber here. If you’re a paid subscriber, you can participate in book club (more below), but really it just helps me make my time working on this (as opposed to other projects) worth it.
I’m officially a grifter so… this newsletter is an affiliate with Sock Religious! You can use that link to find lots of fun products to start conversations about the faith (the t-shirts are my personal favorite. but also… these St. Cecilia socks.)
Rocco’s book club is tonight! If you’re interested in the next book club, it will be on tonight, February 4th, at 8pm EST on Zoom. The book is The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley. For more info on joining the book club, read this post.