Embracing The Ordinary…

Sometimes people think enjoying life means celebrating special occasions, observing important milestones, getting raises, and promotions, going on a vacation, buying something new, winning a big game, or closing a significant business deal. The truth is, life is not one big party, we should not expect to giggle our way through everyday; and we cannot definitely sit around and wait for the next exciting event.

Thankfully, those noteworthy things do happen, but they are few and far between. They certainly do not occur everyday, or even once a week or even once a month. We need to celebrate life’s exciting occasions and it’s big events, but in between them, we must be able to find joy in fighting traffic, going to work, listening to that stranger that needs our help, cleaning the house, raising our children, taking out the trash, paying the bills, and of course dealing with that grouchy neighbor.

We all have responsibilities and things we must do, so when I say embrace the ordinary, I am not talking about entertaining ourselves from daylight until dark or about getting our way all the time. Enjoying life begins with making a decision to do so, even with the little things around us because the truth is, no matter what kind of lives we have, we will not enjoy them unless we decide to do so.

One of the great keys to happiness lies in understanding that most of life is “everyday”. If we are really going to enjoy every day, we must learn to embrace the ordinary, to find delight in the little things around and within us and to find pleasure in the circumstances and situations other people might overlook. Mark 4: 26,27, reminds us that the “kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed upon the ground, and then continues sleeping and rising night and day while the seed sprouts and grows and increases, he knows not how”. Here the scripture teaches us that something happens to a seed while it is underground, a process of growth and nourishment, that no one can see.

The same principle applies to our lives. Much of life takes place when no one is looking and God works in our lives during the ordinary times. We need to remember, when nothing remarkable seems to be taking place and everything is all business as usual, that’s where the develop character and the ability to enjoy life moment by moment, day by day, week after week and year after year, we find all of life has become rich, deep, and satisfying.

“True life is really not found in arriving at a destination; it is found in the journey”.