For Cynthia…

Mundane moments will always exist in work or life, but sometimes the mundane things reveal the most sacred gifts. Every morning as I begin my routine at work, I fill a pitcher with water and scoop a bunch of ice into an ice bucket for any meetings that might be on the agenda for the day. I confess that this is not my favorite part of my job. Some mornings, I walk into the office and my coworker Cynthia has already filled the pitcher and ice bucket for me. Every time this happens, I smile, feeling both surprised and grateful.

Cynthia died last week. Her death has left our community feeling broken and sad as we try to process this loss. I walked into the office this morning and stared at the empty pitcher and ice bucket, and my heart sank. My mind quickly tried to figure out how I would ever fill that pitcher without feeling grief. To be honest, I felt sad as I realized that most likely no one else would fill that water pitcher for me in the mornings and I had a new understanding of what a difference Cynthia made in my life because she had intentionally thought of me.

This morning routine will never be mundane again. It will be a daily reminder to me that Cynthia’s small gift of thoughtfulness gave me hope on more mornings than I can count. Each time I fill that water pitcher, I am reminded of how important intentional kindness can be. It doesn’t have to be a huge gesture. We don’t have to solve every world problem. We just need to be faithful in our every day interactions. One small act might help someone else to cling to hope in the midst of their own struggles. A friend of mine compared this to being a link in a chain that others can hold onto along their way. He didn’t want to miss being a link. I don’t either.  Thank you, Cynthia, for helping me to see the sacred in the every day.

Who has been that link in the chain for you? How can you move towards others in love today?