The Mundane Life: An Opportunity For Thanks And Praise 

 As a small child I thought I would grow up to be a princess and a mom. When I got older I thought I might teach piano lessons and high school English. At one point I thought I would be a doctor or surgeon, and wanted to be the next Dana Scully performing autopsies for the FBI. Then I thought I would become an author while also being a church worker. Everytime I imagined my life, I pictured it full of grand adventures; the idea of being a “grown up” with a job and money to travel and do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted was so alluring. Little did I know that “adulting” is nowhere near as glamorous as it seems when you’re young! 

That’s not to say that adult life is “boring.” There are so many things to do and often not enough hours in the day to do them. Being a music and worship director is not as glamorous as some of the careers I dreamed up, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an exciting and fulfilling role. My professional and personal life have had many mountaintop experiences; however, those experiences do not make up the majority of experiences in my life. 

Much of life is lived in the “mundane” or ordinary moments. No one told me that everyday I would get up, make breakfast, do dishes, get ready for work and go to work, come home, cook dinner, do dishes, and then read a book or watch a movie before bed. No one told me that my weekends would be spent doing laundry, mowing the yard, grocery shopping, going to the gym, budgeting, meal planning and prepping, and more time at work (yay being a church musician and working nights and weekends). After squeezing in the occasional project or time spent with friends or family, every day is full, and rarely does the day include the adventure that I thought it would when I was a child. 

The more I have settled into adulthood, the more I have come to appreciate the predictability of the mundane. When so many things in this world seem uncertain, the mundane things are grounding. It’s the peace and calm in the middle of the highest mountaintop experiences and lowest valley experiences. It’s the vast majority of life and the places where we often miss God being at work. 

In Romans 12:1, Paul tells us to “present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [our] spiritual worship.” I love the Message translation of this passage: “take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.” 

God is at work in the mundane moments of life just as much as He is in the exciting or challenging moments of life. We don’t always recognize His hand in these moments, though. We are quick to praise God in times of plenty and quick seek Him in times of want, and then fail to acknowledge Him in the mundane. He is present, though, and every mundane moment is an opportunity to thank and praise Him.

Thank you, God, for the ordinary days to reflect on Your goodness. Thank you, God, for the blessing of time and treasures to manage. Thank you, God, for the routine moments that bring stability to the ups and downs of life. Thank you, God, for being present with Your children at all times, in all places, and in all things. Thank you, God, for this mundane life.  

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