Apr
20
2013
Ordinary Days
Posted in Christian Worldview, Daily Living 4 Comments
I sit here at my computer and write as a massive manhunt is happening in Boston.
A search is ongoing for one of the suspects involved in the Boston Marathon bombing.
Boston is literally shut down and the region of Watertown is completely shut off.
Federal, state, and local authorities are engaged in a coordinated effort to bring this situation to an end.
I think of the families in the area…mothers with their children…essentially on lock down.
Days before, parents could guard their children’s hearts and eyes from the violence.
But today…with armored vehicles and weapons all around them…a glance out their windows brings all of this too close to home.
Oh…the bliss of ordinary days!
R C Sproul Jr. lost his wife to breast cancer in 2011 and his 16-year-old daughter in 2012.
He posted a comment the other day on Facebook.
He said…What we end up missing most about those who go before us is what we noticed least when they were with us.
The ordinary tends to be overlooked or dismissed.
The ordinary tends to be under appreciated.
Oh…the bliss of ordinary days!
Life can be so daily!
Our lives can be so routine and predictable.
In a crisis, those same things we griped about minutes before, we suddenly value.
We wish, with all of our heart, we could get them back.
The “grass is always greener” attitude destroys our appreciation of the ordinary.
We look around us, behind us, and further down the road.
We compare…often apples to oranges.
We see our life as dull, lackluster, boring.
Meaningless! Meaningless! says the Teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless. What does a man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?
…What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:2,3,9)
Solomon, the wisest man, found no satisfaction in life.
He had everything he could possibly want…except the peace to enjoy it.
He saw life as meaningless.
Vanity of vanities, he would say.
Solomon looked for meaning in study, in the exploration of wisdom, pleasure, laughter, wine, projects, wealth…but nothing satisfied.
Life remained daily…under the sun.
When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:11)
Solomon didn’t realize how blessed he really was!
A change of perspective was needed.
Solomon needed to take his eyes off the S-U-N.
Solomon needed to put his eyes on the S-O-N.
When he changed his focus, he saw things clearly.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil – this is a gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere Him. (Ecclesiastes 3:11-14)
We are no different.
We tend to keep our eyes on the SUN…the things of this world.
We tend to look for more excitement…better this…newer that.
We are never satisfied.
The ordinary looks like a big old rut.
When we put our eyes on the SON…we get an eternal perspective.
We cherish the ordinary…because HE is there.
God is in our daily-ness as much as He is in the extraordinary moments of our lives.
Ordinary days are a gift…right from His hand.
Find joy…HIS joy…in the ordinary.
Ordinary days are really very spectacular!
Cherish them while they are here.
Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work – this is a gift from God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart. (Ecclesiastes 5:19,20)
Ordinary days are not guaranteed.
It is not until we lose them, that we see how much we truly value them.
Enjoy them now!
Life is so daily.
Hallelujah!
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After writing this post…and before publishing it…the suspect was captured alive.
Praise God for His protection…that no more lives were lost.
For the people of Boston…they are now going back to ordinary days!
AMEN!
Gina, thank you for your thoughts. You have blessed me greatly with this precious reminder.
Kathy,
I am so glad that these words blessed you.
I needed the reminder as well!
Much love to your family.
Gina
Thanks for the reminder to enjoy the ordinary…we have much to be thankful for. God bless!
Amen,Jean.
It’s so easy to forget!
Gina