August 25, 2025
‘Leave it Better than the Way You Found it’
A phrase at the forefront of my mind this week, but most importantly, on the forefront of my heart these days
It is true that people most often remember how you made them feel
It is remembered how we leave the space we once entered
Living a life of intention brings us to find the reason behind the action
If we are looking to leave the place better than the way we found it, I believe our lives will be marked by more intentional steps and our world would look a little bit better
Living a life that leaves it better than the way you find it calls out actions that may not be a part of the job description
It stretches, it pulls, it prunes
When mundane tasks need to be done at work: Leave it better than the way it is
When I am being asked to help: Leave it better than the way you find it
It causes me to say yes, to stay longer, to lean in more intently
To do these things without complaining, but with a deeper understanding
A life on mission finds purpose in the things that most people find limiting
A life that is committed to finding the purpose, the intentional meaning in all things
If you are looking for the purpose, you will find it
If you are looking for the negative, you will find it
We get to decide the life we want to lead
Leaving it better than it once was is rooted in love and in serving
This can go with how we leave places and how we treat people
Listen more intently, create space for others, and cultivate intentionality
Connect with people to see how they are doing, who they are being and what they are dreaming of
Look people in the eye
Push the chair in before you leave
Take the extra time to create a clean space for your roommates
Let the person in the parking lot go before you
Let the person next to you in line, go ahead of you
Make an extra coffee for someone today
Love opens the door and holds it there
Love looks like Kiki making breakfast + coffee for us after I get back from a run
Love for me often looks like expressing gratitude whenever I can
*over-expressing thankfulness is not a thing*
Love looks like Kaelan picking up 3 pieces of trash off the ground each day- yes, off the ground
Your love doesn’t need to look like this- but this is how he leaves it better everywhere he goes
So, find your rhythm and find the way to make your spaces better today
At work, in your relationships, in your home, in your friendships, in your conversations
It is a life that looks to outpour more than to collect- To give more than receive
I heard it from Bob Goff when he said, “Love like you’ll never run out”
We learn along the way that as we give, we actually have more in us to outpour
When we feel like we don’t have much to give, we hold on to what we think we have
When we commit to leaning in no matter what, we learn that love stretches far and wide beyond what we could ever imagine
In this, I have discovered deeper adventures in how to love, how to lean in, how to serve beyond myself
Jesus multiplies what we give
He did this with the fish
He did this with miracles, His life, His Words
And He is still multiplying
May we be people who leave it better than the way we found it
And may we be people who stay awhile there until it is finally better
Today, as you walk into the office, into meetings, and into classrooms, may we have the aim to make it better than the way we find it- this leads us to stay the course
To find the depths of ourselves and to see the resilience of love that it holds
Love pulls out adventure
When you don’t think you are capable- Lead with love because love is capable
Love pulls purpose beyond emotions and feelings. It gives a perspective bigger than ourselves
May we be walking with a mission that exceeds a job description, a title, a position
May we be mission-minded and may our actions extend from this calling
Let the calling of who you are called to be + who you want to be lead the steps you take
May we not put limits on ourselves and what we expect for our lives
May we live more with intentionality than checking off the boxes
May we do things we may not have to do, but things we get to say yes to
Things we do because we are willing to go the distance
Things that call us to stay the course to make it better than the way we walked in
To make it better than how it once was – to be solution-minded in this day
Live life in the deep end + see what happens
With love,
Makenna
