Overlooking the Ordinary

One of the greatest challenges of life is to be satisfied and peaceful in the midst of the ordinary, everyday routine of life. It seems we’re always looking for the extraordinary, as though our life doesn’t count for much unless something out of the ordinary is happening.

When we hear the stories of the heroes of the Bible, people like Moses, Daniel, and Paul, we hear of the dynamic, history making events in their lives. However, what about the days, months, years that nothing but normal occurred?  How about the wilderness years before the Red Sea parted when Moses married and raised two sons? What about the years between Daniel’s youth and the lion’s den? It’s difficult to turn our attention from the miracles of Paul to the time he spent making tents.  Yes, we tend to overlook the ordinary in favor of the extraordinary.

However, do we really want the extraordinary as much as we think we do? Could we handle it? Even in the slightest of ways, we crave the ordinary…the familiar. To sleep in our own bed, relax in our favorite chair, tuck in with those we love and spend time together doing nothing in particular…these are some of the greatest blessings.

Thinking we ought to do something that “matters” can make it quite a challenge to enjoy, or better yet, be thankful for the ordinary. In my case, participating in a daily photo challenge has gotten me thinking differently. I’m beginning to realize it might be more a matter of perspective. I’ve found that when we really take the time to focus on the things we encounter every day, the ordinary things…well, they’re actually quite extraordinary after all.

I once again joined the fun at Five Minute Friday where we write for five un-edited minutes on a prompt of her choosing.  Today’s prompt… Ordinary