I Matter and You Matter

In "The Wounded Healer," Henri Nouwen talks about faith relying on promises and the unknown, not on concrete results - which can be immensely discouraging, frustrating, etc. to diligent folk. This made me think of Hebrews 11:39-40 which suggests that none of the heroes of faith received what was promised during their lifetime, but held on to the promise of something better after that.
This makes me also think of the cathedrals of Europe, many of which took more than one lifetime to construct. I imagine the builders and artisans spending their whole life working on something and not getting to see the final result, which so many of us enjoy today.
How painful and yet how beautiful it is to know that our work is not ours alone and will be continued by others when we are gone. And how beautiful and painful that our work will affect the lives of countless others, though we may never see it. And what a relief to know that I am not responsible for the fate of the world - and at the same time what a privilege it is that I am responsible for how my thoughts, words, and actions affect the fate of the world.
And so it reminds me that our work matters and thus each of us matters, and yet we need not worry about the future or about accomplishing this or that or being recognized as the results-producer. We have the joy of working to make our world a better place.