Be Exceptional!

Sometimes a thought jumps out at me when I am reading something and I know that I should really think about it But every once in awhile, that same idea shows up in multiple places and then I know I need to embrace it and make it part of my life. That's what happened to me this morning.

During my devotions on Wednesday morning, I was reading in "My Utmost for His Highest" and Oswald Chambers made a statement that grabbed my attention. While the complete statement was longer than this, here is the part that spoke to me. It said "...be exceptional in the ordinary things of life." Wow! I couldn't let go of that thought.

I jotted the quote on a scrap of paper and tucked it in my bag to take to work with me. Throughout the day I read those words over and over again. I pondered what that would look like in my life. What if we all gave our very best efforts to the everyday situations that we face, and to the people who touch our lives. No more of the "just enough to get by" attitude. How could we change our world?

So, this morning, I was once again having my devotions. As I leafed through some of the recent devotions I had read in a little book called "Joy & Strength," my eye caught a sentence that I had underlined on September 24. It read like this, "...do everything, however ordinary, as well as it can possibly be done, for God's sake." There it was again, the call to be exceptional in the ordinary things of our lives!

Most of us dream about doing something big, something exceptional that will impact this world. There is nothing wrong with that. It's just that, very few of us ever achieve anything quite that dramatic.

But, here's what I'm suggesting: we can all be exceptional. We have the power to take the "ordinary" in our lives and make it extraordinary by giving it our best effort. Every situation, every relationship, every disappointment and trial...they all can be transformed. God honors our efforts when we choose to give our best.

So go for it. Be exceptional! It's not every day that an opportunity like this comes along...well, actually it is!