Just Do It

 

                

  

(Photo credit: Lisa Scribner)

More than a foot and a half of snow has been dumped on our area over the past ten days. (Side note: Google ‘The Great Blizzard of 1978’ to reminisce about the record storm that hit us January 25-27 that year.)  The deep snow is beautiful! It also brings out the best in us: As people work to clear their driveways and sidewalks, it’s not uncommon to see neighbors with snow blowers helping those using shovels. Nobody asks them to, and it would be easy not to; they just do it.

Also, the two photos above show one snowman built by a few kind-hearted teenagers for their shut-in neighbor. Notice that this extraordinary snowman has two faces:  one smiling at the neighbor inside the house, and the other smiling at everyone who passes by. The neighbor didn’t ask them to build it, and the teens could have used the brutally cold weather as an excuse not to. They just did it because they knew it would make her happy – and that made them happy.

Saint Francis de Sales said, “Be who you are, and be that well.” Nike’s slogan is, ‘Just Do It.’ Taken together in light of the life God has given us, these phrases encourage us to cherish our own uniqueness; be and do the best we can; persist in doing what’s good and right; and not let difficulties or obstacles deter us. This persistence is not the same as stubbornly doing whatever we want; rather, it’s doing what God wants. Here are two Biblical examples:

In the story of David and Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17:32-51), Goliath had defied God and was taunting the Israelites. David believed that God would help him defeat Goliath. Disregarding Saul’s protests and his own small stature, David persisted and accomplished what God wanted him to do.  

Also: In the synagogue, Jesus noticed a man with a withered hand (see Mark 3:1-6). The Pharisees watched to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath. “Jesus looked at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart.” He knew it was ‘lawful to do good’ for the man regardless of what day it was. Jesus didn’t let the others’ narrow-mindedness stop Him from doing what was the good and right thing to do; He healed him.

Let’s follow these examples. Let’s persist in doing what’s right and good in any given situation and ignore the voices that try to deter us with excuses. Whatever God puts on our hearts to do -- clear our neighbor’s sidewalk, build a cheery snowman for someone who can’t get outside, or anything else -- let’s just do it, and do it well.

 “Lord, let me see the good I can do, and give me the strength to do it.”

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