"Little Flower" - St. Therese of Lisieux

“Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.” – St. Therese of Lisieux

I was recommended a book by a friend called “My Life with the Saints” by James Martin. I have not completed the book yet, but was absolutely fascinated by the chapter on Saint Therese of Lisieux, often called simply “Little Flower”. Up until reading this chapter, I knew very little, if anything, about this woman. However, one thing that struck me was her ability to not only accept, but fulfill serving Christ in the “little things”. This is a similar thought I’ve had bouncing around my own head for quite some time. See, ever since I was in middle school I’ve wanted to be involved in some sort of volunteer work. Over the years when I have tried to join an effort, it seems like the door was slammed shut. This left me on many occasions, very confused and sometimes very sad. I had contemplated that perhaps there is something more I need to develop within myself before pursuing these opportunities. I have contemplated, to my horror, what if I was supposed to try harder and knock on the door again and again until things worked out. However, recently a thought kept coming into my head “Serve God in the little moments, the opportunities that arise that are not organized, not scheduled”. Since it is my nature to argue different perspectives and overanalyze things, I kept thinking back, why not do both? We should do the former anyhow. This has been a personal struggle for me, because I feel like I should be doing so much more.

Then I was reading in the book how St. Therese talked about how not everyone can be a rose, but there is a need for daisies as well. St. Therese wrote "So it is in the world of souls, the living garden of the Lord. It pleases Him to create great saints, who may be compared with lilies or the rose; but He has also created little ones, who must be content to be daisies or violets nestling at His feet to delight His eyes when He should choose to look at them. The happier they are to be as He wills, the more perfect they are."

Not everyone is destined to do great huge things. Perhaps the focus should be on Faith and serving Christ with a loving heart in the seemingly ordinary moments of life. After all, it is about His glory, not our own. It reminds me of how we are called “The Body of Christ”. Each member of the body has different roles to fill. Some have the role of roses and lilles, and some of us are perhaps daisies or wildflowers. Some are the hands and feet, some are the heart, some are the mind, etc. The members come together to work as one, creating a beautiful garden from the fruit of their workings.

It appears to me that St. Therese was all about love and being the heart of “the body”. She loved. She served Christ in all moments with love. A good example for all of us to strive for, I think.

So a lesson and reminder learned – to serve God with a cheerful heart, in even seemingly mudane moments of life. Reach out to our neighbor, even if it seems small or insignificant-that one small action could be huge to that individual. Serve God humbly. Most of all learn to love unconditionally in all moments of life, loving most and foremost our Creator and Savior.

I am looking forward to reading St. Therese’s writings and learning more about her life.