God must love ordinary days, for He’s made so many of them! True, we all have days that include a mountaintop-type experience, and we all have days that are a valley-type experience. We may even have a string of such days. But for most of us a majority of our days are rather ordinary.
Annie Dillard wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” So, how can we better spend our many ordinary days so they add up to an extraordinary life?
Well, first of all, even ordinary days are intruded by the beautiful and amazing if we but take notice. Pause to reflect on the multitude of colors in soapy suds that bring God’s sky-hung rainbow into our kitchen or bathroom sink. Consider how a butterfly with its paper-thin broad wings navigates from flower to flower effortlessly in a stiff wind. Gaze closely at the frost on a window that spreads out in delicate, lace-like, swirling patterns. Savor that first taste of tea, coffee, or juice in the morning. Tune the ear to the song of the bird that’s nearly, but not quite, drowned out by the sound of the traffic. Blessings of the beautiful and amazing abound in every day!
Each day is saturated with the spectacular! We can magnify the delight of it all by being grateful to God for the extraordinary input we’re receiving in such an ordinary day!
Then, too, we can always identify something extraordinary to do in an ordinary day. Mitch Albom wrote, “You can find something truly important in an ordinary minute.” Opportunities abound for us to add value to someone’s day, if we but look for them. It doesn’t have to be something big and spectacular. Louisa May Alcott wrote, “The humblest tasks get beautiful if loving hands do them.” It just takes a minute to give a few words of encouragement. If we can spare a few minutes we can offer a person tangible assistance that will help them with their day. And, again, we can magnify the delight by doing it primarily to please God, who’s put us in such a position to make a difference!
Ordinary days can end up being something special, even extraordinary. We just have to be intentional about making it happen!
“Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they celebrate your righteousness.” Psalm 89:15-16
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