Delighting in the Ordinary
During this season of Lent, we have been asked to think about what delights us. This question got me thinking about what people do in everyday life. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed that it was the small things that are sometimes taken for granted that give substance to our lives.
Oftentimes, when people are asked, “What did you do today?” it seems that there is a hidden expectation of having done some major accomplishment. People find themselves stumbling for some answer that seems extraordinary, but this is a false expectation that causes us to forget the small, perhaps even mundane things that are meaningful that we’ve done during the course of a day.
What would it be like to delight in our ability to fold our laundry or breathe fresh air as we walk in a park? What kind of delightful joy could we gain in calling a friend or watching our favorite tv show?
The everyday things that we do are blessed by God. The Divine is in all that we do from picking flowers to sweeping the floor. In fact, it is nothing short of helping the world go round.
In one of the songs that I have composed I sing, “It’s fine to get a job promotion, or climb a mountain if you have the notion. But every now and then I say to you my friends you gotta thank God for ordinary days.” It could be that delighting in the ordinary becomes extraordinary.
Amen