St. Teresa is one of my favorite Christian writers. She was an advocate of the Small Way, small acts of great kindness shaping my efforts to do good.
“Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word, always doing the smallest thing right and doing it all for love,” she wrote.
Kelly Patrick is an aide at the Mansion, and she has had a complicated and challenging life that could turn anyone bitter or angry.
But Kelly isn’t bitter or angry, as the photograph shows.
She is full of genuine love for the residents at the Mansion, and in Memory Care, they return the love in full. Life in the Mansion is not simple for the staff of the residents. Kelly never loses focus on her mission – love, love, love.
Small moments like this draw me to the Mansion and the daily loving work done.
Kelly is my Mansion Saint; she understands that the small task done lovingly gives us the strength to live our lives in trust.
St. Therese of Lisieux is the patron saint of our church in Mooresville, NC, and she is an inspiration to me as well. (Note: there are several Saints named Therese, so we Catholics use the “of” to identify which one).