By Hilary Horn —
It’s been just shy of 5 years where we have not done anything drastic. My family hasn’t moved, I haven’t had a new born baby, been pregnant or started a new ministry or job. For a good season, our life was always on the move or had something new that would drastically put a curve ball into our life rhythms. None of them were bad, but it caused big waves that forced us into movement. I felt like we never arrived and were constantly trying to catch up during the past few years.
This year, we don’t plan on doing anything new and it’s been so refreshing. Every year my husband and I pray about a word that will direct our year and our word for 2019 is “faithfulness”. Being faithful in our everyday lives and not adding anything into the mix. Being steadfast and consistent in what we are already given.
So this year, I feel like I’m resurrecting the ordinary. Often we take for granted the ordinary-ness of life. We jam-pack it with busyness or hyper entertainment or change. But there is something special to the normal, ordinary parts of life that we get to experience.
Ordinary helps calm our souls and give us a sense of safeguard. When things around us may storm up, we feel better equipped and rooted because our own lives are anchored. We may handle others storms with more eloquence and wisdom. Ordinary helps give us margin in many facets of life. And ordinary helps us discover Jesus in simple ways.
We’ve only been a few weeks into 2019 but I’m loving watching the ordinary resurrected in my life. The beauty in simple mornings watching your kids play while you sip your coffee. Being pretty confident in our routine and schedule which helps allow margin for more life giving things like exercise, longer meditations or more time with friends. Discovering new flowers blooming you somehow missed last year in your garden. Cooking meals and enjoying them with your family. Finally hanging up those frames that have been sitting in my closet for 5 months. Getting rid of the junk that’s piled up and making space for more creativity. Not being too rushed for time and enjoying play with my kids. Ultimately, enjoying the ordinary, regular rhythms of the week to week cycles we venture into each month. Some may see it boring, but I see it as transformative. Ordinary every day things that give me a chance to be faithful in.
I’ve been reflecting on this verse this month during my “ordinary” days from Romans 12:1-2 when Paul is talking about living a sacrificial life. I really like the message version as I’ve been exploring the idea of an “ordinary life”.
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him“.
Living your life as a sacrifice to God often isn’t in the huge moments of life. Often, they are in the quiet, unseen, ordinary parts of life. We see our true obedience when no one is looking and when sometimes life just looks boring or similar. Instead of looking for the next best thing or tick off something on our life check list, we are steady in the place we are at. These moments and seasons aren’t always glamorous. We can still honor God and be a fragrant offering to him in our normal, day to day lives.
In these places of ordinary, I see small growth. I’m excited for next year to look back and see these mustard seeds burst into their fullness because of the every day little steps is faithfulness. To see this in my personal life, our families life and our church life. These ordinary weeks become extravagant months when you look back on them. The ordinary becomes a transfiguration of new life in my soul and community.
Are you in a season of “ordinary”? What does that look like in your walk with Jesus? I’d love to hear your comments below.