I learned it in eleventh grade. My teacher made us memorize it for a test. The quote by Thomas Henry Huxley made a deep impression on me, sticking with me all these years. “The most valuable result of all education is the ability to do the thing you have to do, when it has to be done, whether you like it or not. This is the first lesson to be learned.”
Sometimes we have to do things we don’t like. It’s just life. We wish everything could be the sweet things, the fun times, the soaring moments, but the reality is we have to do the other stuff too. There will always be laundry, bills to pay, messes to clean up, and not so pleasant tasks to get through. Huxley’s quote gives us a “just get in there and get it done” tool that is valuable. Sometimes, you just have to take a deep breath, roll up your sleeves, and get through it.
Paul, however, gives us a context for all of our tasks – the tough ones and the easy ones. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” – Colossians 3:23. Everything we do can be an act of worship. Every task can be a moment offered to the Lord. It doesn’t matter what it is, whether we like it or not, or if it is something noticed and valued by others. When we live with surrendered hearts, every move we make takes on eternal significance. Our actions echo through heaven. When we offer whatever we do to the Lord, we are asking Him to infuse it with His purpose, presence, and power. The task that really isn’t your favorite can become a sacrifice of praise that sings His glory when you do it for the Lord, not for men.
My Jesus Resolution today is to look at my to-do list with Colossians 3:23 eyes. I am going to be deliberate about keeping my eyes on Jesus as I work through each task. I am going to offer each movement to the Lord as the sacrifice of a heart that is learning to reflect Him. I want to measure each moment, not by whether I like or not, but by how pleasing it is to Him. It is possible to find joy in everything I do today, because today I am going to do everything for Him.
Casandra Martin 
It is fun to watch God bring reminders of things we heard or talked about in one day of our lives, to another day of our lives, in a totally different setting. A week before I read this, I had decided to make the scripture Col.3:23 a motto for my family and hang it written on a 3×5 card in the bathrooms.
Casandra, thanks for encouraging and modeling, wholehearted living.