Today was mundane. Well, from 7:15am on it’s been mundane. From 6-7:15am I was at Morning Prayer, which was anything but mundane. We continue to be surprised and amazed at the way God is answering prayer in our lives and the lives of those around us. That was my spiritual shot of caffeine this cold and drizzly Monday morning.
And then it was home (which I love, thank you God for the honor of staying home!)–making oatmeal, pouring milk, brewing tea. It was practicing consistency (word, warning, back it up!) when Dutch wanted to get up before his magic morning-hour. It was nursing Heidi on the couch while warming Dutch’s feet under my legs. It was dishes, cleaning up Heidi’s high chair”artwork”, changing a diaper, dressing wiggly warm little bodies, kissing toes and nibbling fingers, practicing consistency with Dutch’s morning routine and chores. It was giving in to my tired body and brewing a cup of coffee.
Then it was gathering my “coupon-spree” stack and heading to Rite-Aid. Of course nothing was as I thought it would be, so then it was scouring the store for the best deal so I could use my $5 off $20 coupon that expires on Friday, while Heidi lunged toward the shelves from the front-pack and Dutch repeatedly said loudly and anxiously (but using his manners), “Mommy, can you please get me some makeup?”
Then it was playing trains, reading a dozen books, soothing tears. It was making sandwiches, steaming vegetables, monitoring the spoonfuls of peanut butter (his dad taught him that trick). It was reminding myself that I’m trying to eat healthy, choosing to grab the banana on the counter and not the Moosetracks in the freezer.
And now by some miracle they are both asleep (Dutch’s first nap in 6 months), and I am here.
All of this is likely familiar to you. Our days are filled with routine, mundane tasks. Carpools and grocery runs. Wiping counters, noses, bottoms.
What is it, then, that is sacred?
All of it. Most of us are familiar with 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” All of life is sacred. If anything matters, everything matters. Because we are eternal beings, infused with dignity and value by our God-given identity as image-bearers of God, everything we do has spiritual significance. Every physical action has spiritual significance. This does not mean, however, that we fret and obsess over details. This afternoon, when I needed a snack, I chose a banana over an apple. Pretty sure nothing shifted in the heavenlies over that one. But part of trusting Christ is believing that at all times God is doing infinitely more than we can see with our physical eyes. It is, quite simply, walking by faith and not sight.
So today I trust God that He is using my stay-at-home-mom status to raise up warriors for God’s kingdom, even though it tends toward monotony. Today Dutch and I read a dozen stories, the last of which was a series of myths about how a turtle got its shell. To my surprise, in a little Golden Book, stories were shared about the Greek god Hermes, and a Native American god named Uncle. Dutch and I got to have a long talk about why “pretend gods” make God sad. I was so thankful that I got to be the first person to talk to him about false gods. He will spend the rest of his life being confronted with them, and, I hope and pray, confronting them.
All of us live in the mundane, not just stay-at-home-moms. My encouragement for today is to remember that living the sacredness of the mundane is to live by faith. My encounter with the grumpy woman at the grocery store, my choices on how to spend our money, the way I greet my husband at the door after work–a million choices add up to my life. Will it be extraordinary or ordinary? If I’m the main character in this story, what’s the point? I may as well pack up and go home. But if I’m a seemingly insignificant, yet vital, extra in God’s story, then all my life is infused with importance because it all has to do with glorifying an extraordinary God. And this, this remembrance that God is the main character, keeps it all in perspective. My life, every mundane detail, is part of the sacred story of God. Rumor has it that in the end He saves the day. Not sure how my coupon-clipping contributes, but I’ll do it by faith just the same.