Miracles in the Mundane

I admit I kinda enjoy washing dishes. I guess I find it satisfying to clean things up. And I don’t really mind doing the laundry either. It is also satisfying to make dirty clothes clean again. In fact, I find most of the household chores somewhat enjoyable; just don’t give me the task of cleaning the bathroom. This is my least favorite of all the chores including cooking, baking, yard work or housework. Give me an overstuffed storage room to purge and I’d gladly trade you my bathroom to clean (although I have just found the best cleaning solution for the ring around the tub and it has made my life so much easier. I accidentally came across a powerful cleaning wipe that is a natural cleaner that banishes ring around the tub. It’s the next best thing since sliced bread!)

As a little girl, I dreamed of being a homemaker and I have been blessed to serve my family all these years. I am thankful that right off the top of our marriage, I determined to keep a good attitude as I managed the mundane aspects of daily life. Let’s face it, if the clothes and dishes aren’t washed, it can bring chaos on pretty quickly. As family managers, we keep a lot of plates spinning to keep a well-oiled household running smoothly. You know, most of our life is not filled with the big events; it is the daily grind, the routine, the ordinary that we experience most. Colossians 3: 23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” This is a favorite scripture of mine. This makes everything we do matter. It matters to our Lord how we sweep the floor. It matters how we make the bed. It matters how we serve our family... our neighbors... our community. It doesn’t go unnoticed. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7. It may look as though the one with the impressive career has more going for them but that is simply not the case. Someone in an elite, leadership position may be functioning in a dishonest way while someone else is running their home with excellence and although, we buy into the idealistic view of “having arrived”, the Word of God levels the playing field, reminding us that whatever we sow, we will reap. Be assured, it will all come out in the wash. “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’” Matthew 25:23

I think of the Samaritan woman who went to draw water at the well. She encountered Jesus in the mundane task of fetching water; she received the “living water” that eternally satisfied her thirst. She experienced the presence and love and forgiveness of Jesus as she was going about her ordinary business of the day. Let’s not put God in a box. He can provide for your needs through the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. He can heal you after years of sickness, just like the beggar at the Gate Beautiful. He can shut the lions’ mouths when you’ve chosen to obey God over man. He can still the storm in your heart, in your marriage and in your workplace. Expect the unexpected. God is in the miracle-working business of the mundane..