I have been thinking about that today, because it seems such a small thing to fix a bed, but it is an essential thing for discipline.
My mother never had a particularly clean house. This is not to say that our home was dirty or messy, but it is to say that though the home was always clean, my mother prioritised our family life and activities over the home itself. My mother did this when I was a little girl, and she continues to do this now that I am grown and have children of my own.
This means that there are often toys on couches or in corners, because grandchildren come over to visit and she likes to ensure that those grandchildren feel at home in her home. This can mean that those grandchildren can make quite a mess while they are in her home and if we – as their parents – did not then ask them to clean up the mess they had made, my mother would be left with a terrible mess to clear away on her own after everyone had left…
My mother only really has a few rules in relation to cleaning and the home. And the rules are this… You may use her kitchen to cook whatever you like, provided that you wash up and clean up the kitchen afterwards. She did not want to come back later and clean the kitchen after you had already used it. Another of her rules was that we were always required to fix our beds every single day. My mother would not tolerate an unmade bed in her house. And even though I am older now and have my own home, I take the same attitude, and I ensure that everyone fixes their beds every single morning before they leave the house.
And I have been thinking about that today, because it seems such a small thing to fix a bed, but it is an essential thing for discipline. And it is the same for the small acts of discipline that we apply in our spiritual lives.
For example, Saint Jacinta decided that she (and her brother, Saint Francesco and her cousin Saint Lucia) should never swear again after having seen the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin and seen a vision of Hell. Now that is a small and simple thing. A small act of will-power to refrain from swearing. And yet – just like fixing a bed first thing in the morning – choosing to improve in one small thing has merit.
You see, without making a small achievable change, no large apparently unachievable change could never be possible.
And I have been thinking about that today, as I fix my bed in the morning. Because I wonder what small little thing I could offer up for love of my Beloved… And sometimes, I think all those little excuses for all those little things are just a way for me to get myself confused and lost and distracted about all of the rest of it…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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