My Daily Offerings

Last year, I was in need of a permanent break from the thoughts of, “Just get through it,” and “Get as much done today as possible”…

Because early last fall, my family got Covid.

While enduring this, I quickly realized three things:

1. I do not do suffering well.

2. The only thing that mattered was surviving. (My husband was hospitalized and I had a bad case of pneumonia with no one to help us with the kids.)

3. I needed a better way of thanking God for those who were helping us. (So many brought us food, helped with yard work, brought school work, etc.).

So, because of #3, I decided I was going to start doing the thing that I promised myself I would do at the beginning of the year (it only took 9 months to get there…ha!)

I started to offer my daily tasks for those around me.

For example, when doing laundry, I offered it as a prayer for a dear friend who had hurt her back and was having trouble doing laundry herself.

Or when I was doing dishes, I offered it as a prayer for the members of my family who would use them at our next meal. (Thank you St. Theresa of Calcutta for this great idea!)

All of a sudden, my daily tasks were no longer a list of things to get done, they were a prayer and sacrifice for those I loved and those for whom I promised I would pray.

I began to see my focus shift from myself to others, from my suffering to Christ’s suffering, from despair and frustration to intention and joy.

Although I am not great at keeping a planner, I am great at making lists and checking tasks off that list. The missing piece for me was naming an intention, a prayer for that list. I needed to offer my day as a sacrifice for something greater than myself.

So, I created “My Daily Offering” tools to help me do just that.  I present to you the “My Daily Offerings” collection of daily planner tear-off sheets and XL dry erase magnets.

My prayer is that, through the use of these tools, you will find yourself joyfully walking (and suffering) with Christ.

Our souls and the souls of others are so much more important than a to-do list.