Unsung Heroes

I passed the bus stop.
The mom was waiting with her son for the elementary school bus to pick him up.
He was talking a mile a minute about something important.
His hands were gesturing for effect.

I smiled at how much it reminded me of days not too long ago.
Those last few moments before the bus comes.
Listening to all they have to say.
One last hug; one last wave.

The woman had a squeegee in one hand and a spray bottle in the other.
She meticulously washed the windows of the glass doors.
The doors that people entered and exited as they entered the mall.
They were clean for about two seconds before someone’s hands pushed the door open.

I smiled at her as I went by.
Thank you. They look so nice.
She smiled back, grateful for the recognition.
A little acknowledgement of a job well done.

He gathered the shopping carts.
He is out in the parking lot rain or shine, cold or heat.
Collecting the carts, making sure they are there for the customers.
Often, he waits by my car to collect my cart as I load the groceries in the mini van.

How nice of you!
You saved me some extra steps.
He moved the cart expertly and joined it to the others.
He pushed the whole line of carts back into the store.

Hardworking people.
Ordinary people.
People like you and me.

He drags his wheeled bucket around the school.
The go-to man.
He is ready with sawdust if a child throws up.
He is ready with a plunger if need be.

The janitor is an unsung hero.
Cleaning up messes that others leave behind.
Fixing broken things that need repair.
Available on a moment’s notice since there is never a dull moment with children.

Unsung heroes.
The people that do ordinary work in extraordinary ways.
People that do not seek recognition for themselves.
People that keep the ebb and flow of life moving seamlessly.

People that will never be on the front page of the paper.
People that will never be on TV.
People that go over and above what is expected.
Quietly minding their own business, working hard, while taking care of their families.

People that keep society humming.
People that, if they didn’t do what they do, our everyday lives would be adversely affected.

Changing diapers, checking homework, and cooking meals.
Dusting furniture, vacuuming rugs, and doing laundry.
Weeding gardens, planting flowers, and painting woodwork.
Mundane tasks that become a form of worship to our Lord Jesus.

Mending uniforms that ripped as they slid into third base.
Helping with the science project that isn’t coming together the way it should.
Sitting up all night with a child who has a fever.
Cheering at every sporting event and wiping tears away when they lose.

Juggling packages on one arm and a baby on the other.
Making four dozen cupcakes because you were asked.
Watching her children so that a young mom can get her hair cut all by herself.
Mowing the front lawn which is only going to grow again.

Holy moments done with the right heart.

Society elevates the flashy, the rich, and the famous.
Their lifestyle does not matter.
What matters most is who is on the A-list at the moment.
What matters most to society is boasting about everything little thing that is done.

Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-4)

God the Father likes unsung heroes.
People that do the job they were called to do, all to His Glory.
People who worship with their hands and their feet.
People that do something unobtrusively, not to be seen or praised.

The hands and feet of worship are quiet and unassuming.
It is doing the right thing with the right heart.
It is doing the ordinary and making it extraordinary without even trying.
Creating a holy moment for the Glory of the Lord without even knowing it.

Unsung to the world.
A cacophony of praise to God, the Father.
Make some noise without making a sound.
Life is so daily, but it speaks volumes.

Nothing is ordinary to God if done with the right heart.
Worship Him with your life.
Quietly, unobtrusively, simply.
All to His Glory alone.