Above Average

I was reading a devotional today which had a quote from Florence Littauer--"It takes so little to be above average."  As my mom would say, "that's deep."  So simple but so true.  And in a way so sad.  Why do we contribute so little to our lives, relationships, homemaking, parenting, marriages, society that it only takes a little effort to make us above average?

How hard to put just a little effort in and become that shining star God has created us to be?  The devotional was on keeping promises, if you say you will call at 7pm do it.  How amazing that keeping a simple promise like that makes you above average.  Yet I know I have broken promises like that before.  In fact on Sunday morning I thought I might be on for serving communion.  I wasn't sure but rather than check and show up for my responsibility I decided someone would surely cover for me if I was on and so I slept in late and went to a different service.  It is easy to say everyone does it but that doesn't make it right.  I made a promise I didn't keep.  I am usually one of the faithful, I had been above average in this area of my life but today I am simply average, like everyone else who doesn't really take their responsibility serious.  How simple to be above average.

This weekend we threw a shower for my cousin who is having a little girl after 2 boys.  It will likely be the last baby for both her and this generation of our family and we wanted to celebrate.  We wanted it to be above average and it was.  But it was so simple to make it above average.  To buy a little pink tulle, and some pink fabric (which my mom made into a table cloth but could also have simply been draped over the table), to simply feel the love for the family and spend a few moments creating the details that make it above average.  We aren't a creative family but we are all bonded and so it came to me we should make a quilt together to symbolize our bond.  Of course, again, we are not a creative family, but we can all tie knots and so we all tied a beautiful blanket together for the baby.  How simple to be above average.

My family wants to eat dinner every night.  They are quirky like that.  Yet somehow giving them this simple thing on a regular basis seems to escape me.  This month I planned the entire month of menus ahead of time and except for planned excursions we have only picked up dinner once because I wasn't prepared.  That is big for us.  And I am amazed how easy it has been to just go in the kitchen and make the meal I planned and to grocery shop for each weeks needs as a result.  And not that I haven't always planned menus or shopping lists but I just don't always follow through.  This year I have resolved to take control of this area of my life and am finding it to be a very simple and rewarding experience thus far.  How simple to be above average.

How about you?  What are you doing "above average"?