“Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different.” -C.S. Lewis

Yesterday Jesse had a half day of school, so I drove there to pick him up at 11am only to get home some time after 2pm. What happened in between was this.

I was buckling Jesse in the car of the school parking lot when another parent came over, remarking that I had something in my tire. Well you could definitely hear the air hissing out with a thin, sharp metal object pierced in the rubber. I called Jason to see if he could come check it out and later he determined the tire needed changing.

He changes the tire then makes the executive decision for all of us to eat a late lunch at Chic-Fila (which why would anyone ever oppose that?). After lunch and Jesse playing in their indoor jungle gym (I make a mental note to use a ton of hand sanitizer afterward), we head over to the car shop.

I’m informed that they can’t even look at the tire or replace it until tomorrow morning. So, weary and with a slight stress headache, we head home to watch Frozen for the hundredth time.

This was not a normal day for us, but not anything extraordinary either. It happens every day to people. Most of life isn’t flashy and exciting and like life on vacation. We get up, go to work or school, meal plan, buy groceries, laundry, clean, etc. All to do it over again the next day.

But here’s the thing. Sometimes the subliminal message in our culture seems to be that ordinary is boring and therefore to be avoided. There is a push to be “unique” and in one sense we all are because God didn’t create any of us alike. Even twins develop different personalities (ask me how I know). But if everyone is striving to stand out and be “different”, isn’t that just another kind of conformity?

In Paul’s letter to Titus he says, “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives” (Titus 3:14).

We still have to work, eat and sleep. Our basic needs still apply and often this includes taking care of others too. My hope is that you and I learn not to despise ordinary living. That even being ordinary is okay even as you use the unique gifts God has blessed you with.

Because it really sums up most of our lives. The moments each day add up over time and turn into weeks, then months and years. It would be a tragedy to have wasted your one life, always seeking the next thrill and not appreciating the commonplace. Our worth isn’t calculated by how “exciting and interesting” we are is it? It’s so much more than that.

So what does Paul encourage Titus and the church to do?

Do good. Live your lives.

I think this is part of “keeping your eyes on your own paper”, to stay faithful right where you are.

When we are faithful to do this, we begin to realize that we are exactly where we need to be. You and I have a different ordinary, but it doesn’t make mine or yours less significant.  Our kingdom work happens here.

Grace upon grace,

April