Monday Manna
"You don't get to change the world, but you do get to love it."
Good morning, friends, and deep gratitude to each of you for beginning this week with me…
“You don’t get to change the world, but you do get to love it.”
It’s these words from author Sarah Bessey I cannot get out of my head and heart. I recently listened to a deeply soulful and inspiring podcast between her, Nadia Bolz-Weber , and Kate Bowler in which Sarah said this. She spoke in reference to how she navigates a world on fire, resists overwhelm, and finds little ways to push back the darkness.
As I listened to these beautiful and wise women talk, I was reminded of the “three-feet” rule, something we’ve reflected on together here. It’s the idea that while we cannot change the entire world on our own (as Sarah alludes to) we can focus on the three feet around us.
But I think what especially reverberated in me from Sarah’s words was a completely different posture to how we approach those three feet around us — rather than drilling down on how to change it, we focus on loving it — the people, the places, the tasks.
I was reminded of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, a French Carmelite nun, whom I first learned about through reading Richard Rohr. Thérèse was known as “the little flower” (which I love for obvious reasons 🌸), but also as the “the Saint of the Little Way.” Her whole focus, her bedrock belief, was that we live out our God-given calling in the world not through big, dramatic gestures, but by doing daily, ordinary things, tasks, chores, and little sacrifices with great love and deep kindness. The seemingly “small things.”
But are they actually small? For Thérèse, no act was too small to have value in God’s eyes. The way she embodied the world was through a quiet and counter-cultural seeking of the “smaller.” How many of us seek and want that? To appear smaller? To serve in ways rarely noticed?
But this is the most transformative thing the world could receive from us — our “small acts with great love,” as Mother Teresa said (I wonder if there is a connection between Thérèse and Teresa??).
The question we begin the day with is not “what do I need to get done today?” but “how can I love today?” Or our favorite question we’ve talked about before from James Finley — “all things considered, what is the most loving thing I can do right now?”
Sarah Bessey talked in the interview about her despair during the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and how alongside giving money, calling government leaders, using her platform and voice to raise awareness, she also brought her grief to her craft, knitting prayer shawl after prayer shawl. That small act, done with great love, was a tangible witness to her own soul, a reminder that while she could not unilaterally change the horrors happening there, she could send all of her love and lift all of her prayers as her knitting needles clacked with voice.
I think of all the things you will do in love today. Things you maybe think are small and ordinary and mundane. But things you will inhabit with a depth of heart and care, a spirit of faithfulness…things on which God will smile and use for transformation.
You will make lunches for your kids, drive a spouse to an appointment, work a night shift, clean up the kitchen after everyone’s gone to bed.
You will call a friend you haven’t heard from in a while and pay the bill that’s been lingering and give thanks as you leave the grocery store that you have money to buy food.
You will fold another load of laundry. You will be patient with a colleague at work.
You will look into the eyes of those you’re talking to and take a deep breath when you send an email.
You will listen for what’s beneath the words someone says to you.
And then you will come to the end of the day and ask yourself,
Who did I love today?
How did I love today?
And you will feel the quiet, tender gratitude of God’s Spirit saying to you, “well done.”
You may not feel like you changed the world. But you loved it.
And I think that creates the most lasting change.
A Prayer
Choosing to bless someone — to bless yourself — is always an act of love. Here is my prayer for that from my book, Ash and Starlight: Prayers for the Chaos and Grace of Daily Life. Think of someone you can pray this over, and maybe that someone is you.
A blessing for someone you love (and yourself!)
Loving God,
I pray for your love in __________’s life.
I pray for your joy in __________’s heart.
I pray for your peace in __________’s soul.
I pray for your patience in __________’s words.
I pray for your kindness in __________’s actions.
I pray for your goodness in __________’s sharing.
I pray for your faithfulness in __________’s relationships.
I pray for your gentleness in __________’s spirit.
And, I pray for your self-control in __________’s choices.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
May they blossom in and through__________.
Amen.
Numbers 6:26 * Isaiah 11:2–3 * Galatians 5:22–23
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
—Galatians 5:22–23a
Something that nourished me recently…
*The gift of being with my mom for Mother’s Day this year. Being a family in ministry who works on Sundays, I can’t remember the last time we were together for it!
*This poem, which I have taped in my journal. I first learned of it when doing a writing workshop for caregivers with Courtney Martin . It feels very resonant with today’s theme, as well as this being the time many are planting and prepping their gardens. The harvest will come…
Ash and Starlight, plus other good things…
*FAMILY FAITH EVERY DAY IN CONVERSATION ~ I had the great joy of sharing in a conversation with the Traci Smith as a part of her Family Faith Every Day initiative. We talked about faith practices at home, the difference between a full life and a busy one, the messiness of life as a parent (rather than perfectionism), and so many more good things. You can watch here.
* MY ETSY SHOP ~ Check out my Etsy shop for clothes, prints, pillows, and more. You can view the shop here . I send a portion of sales in my Etsy shop to Feed My Starving Children. Here’s a sneak peek of a few of the new listings…
*SECOND EDITION OF ASH AND STARLIGHT ~ Find the updated edition of my book here at Chalice or at the Bookshop link.
*MONDAY MANNA ARCHIVES ~ Monday Manna each week is free! Supporting supporters of Monday Manna can view previous Monday Manna reflections here, or for the really old stuff, go to my website.
*WHAT DOES MANNA MEAN? ~ Check out an earlier post to learn how this little bit of “daily bread” got its name…
I wrote a few posts ago about my new favorite book, Theo of Golden. There is a quote in there which, I recently learned, Oprah chose as her favorite quote of 2026 (!!).
“For anything to be good, truly good, there must be love in it.”
But there is another one, which is just as important. The character of Theo quotes William Wordsworth at one point, sharing these words…
“The best portion of a good man's life are his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.”
Go love the world this week.
Love and Light,
Arianne
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And another synchronicity!
https://kaitlincurtice.substack.com/p/day-11-antidote?r=b8sra&utm_medium=ios
From Kaitlin Curtis’ post today…