Magnificence in the Mundane
I washed our off-white dishes with the wrinkled edges for what seemed like the tenth time that day. These dishes are well-worn with the highs and lows of my college years and now my year and a half of marriage.
They’ve seen my tears over my mom’s cancer journey, my hopeful optimism after a long journey back from visiting my husband when we were dating and the highs and lows of marriage. Most are chipped at the edges but I’m just as in love with them today as the day I stood in Walmart and picked them out. I think they have more in common with our everyday lives than one might think.
As the bubbles sloshed around the corners of my dinnerware, something in me felt defeated. Have you been there? It’s that “here we go again” feeling of a mid-Tuesday morning. It’s the drive to the post office or the dreaded car-pool line. As mundane as they may feel, the older I get the more I realize that the everyday moments actually mark and color every day of our lives.
Often, it’s easy to get caught up in the idea of purpose and calling. They seem a little too audacious and a lot too brave for us to be within their grasp. We spend so much time reading and seeking that I’m afraid oftentimes we miss out on what God has for us here, right in the middle of the mundane.
It says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV), “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” That has implications for all of us, doesn’t it?
For the mama-to-be, there is life growing inside of you.
For the corporate gal, there is purpose in the way you step up and lead that project with excellence.
For the stay-at-home mama, there is meaning in the spit up.
For the single college gal, there is a calling on this season for you that has no rival. Don’t miss it.
For the single mom, there is shaping taking place in the lives of your children. Be an active participant!
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in Exodus 3 by flames in the burning bush, what was he doing? He was being faithful. He was tending the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro. Moses was faithful in the mundane and the boring of tending to those sheep long before God spoke in a burning bush.
Many times, you and I have the false belief that if we are faithful to God, our ministry and life’s work will always look like the burning bush day did for Moses. What if in our pursuit of the bush we miss the blessing of being faithful to exactly the work He’s called our hands to do today? What if in our search for greener pastures we neglect to faithfully water the grass we’ve been given?
This year, will you join me in letting go of the “calling overwhelm” and step into the freedom God offers as we fully embrace the work He has authored for us to do? I want to be faithful to the assignment He has for me now and not miss Him because I was on the search for bigger and grander.
There is magnificence in the mundane if we are careful enough to search for it. There’s wonder in a baby’s laugh. There’s joy in a family dinner. There’s camaraderie in a team led with care and excellence. Dirty dishes and all, let’s be on the search for His glory wherever we go. Let’s not miss it on display and certainly not neglect to make Him known every opportunity we get.
