Ordinary Days

I was thinking today about how most days in our lives are pretty ordinary.  Most of us wake up in the mornings and go through a well practiced routine of hygiene and dressing.  Then its breakfast and time alone with God.

And although our individual paths  may vary a bit from the actions mentioned above, they are nothing extraordinary.  Well... not counting the fact that one can communicate with the Creator of the Universe. But simple little things capture my attention on days like today.  Days when I allow myself to recognize they exist and that they make me feel something. 

Things like the familiar squeak of the floor boards in the hallway.  I know exactly where not to step if I want to be completely silent.  Things like how the sunlight filters through the curtains of the living room at different times of the day.  The smell of onions frying or fresh dough when I or my mother prepare to make a meal.

And as I've thought on these things I realized that there is something beautiful about ordinary days.  They have purpose.  They are not just "filler" days until something meaningful happens. Because if it weren't for ordinary days, and the ordinary things that happened in them, than there could be nothing extraordinary. 

But we can never be ready for the extraordinary days unless we appreciate the ordinary ones and learn to use their hours wisely. God is still teaching me this truth along with the fact that we all carry ordinariness inside us too. 

I think, for me personally, I wrestle at times with everything I perceive in myself as ordinary.  And God challenges me to flip that thinking over.  He encourages me to embrace those ordinary things because  He wants to use them for something special. 

In His hands ordinary is transformed. And although transformation can happen quickly God, in His wisdom, knows its better for us if it happens slowly. 

He reminds me of the butterfly.  That is what God does with us.  He gives us chrysalis days.

So rather than wrestle against them, soak them in.  Really let yourself experience the little things.  Enjoy the ordinary in you. Ordinary days are a gift. 

" What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?"

~ Psalm 8:4