Embrace the Ordinary, 2020 vol. 2
I know, it’s almost laughable to talk about anything “ordinary” about life right now. And yet, even with the social distancing, the strange new ways to shop, the restrictions on public worship, life keeps happening. Perhaps more than ever, now is the time to embrace the ordinary and seek God in the mundane. Where else will we find Him, if not here and now, inside our homes?
I must find Him here. I must encounter Him while I wash the floor and fold laundry for the umpteenth time (the boys rode bikes through the muddy backyard yesterday, fell over, and came to the door coated in mud. boys=laundry). Life has slowed in some ways (but ask nearly any parent who now has to juggle school at home + technology management + work + dinner + all the times, life is busy and intense). This as a unique time to meet the Lord in my presence and these strange circumstances.
So I’m looking. Trying to create space for quiet to encounter Him in prayer, trying to still my mind long enough to appreciate the beauty and joy still here, trying to pause long enough to look my kids in the eye and listen to their stories.
We’re making our new ordinary. Hiking. Reading. Doing kitchen science. Praying at least weekly in Adoration, because our parish has also created a new ordinary: daily Eucharistic Adoration.
What is your new ordinary? Where has God revealed Himself to you? I’d love to hear.
For the past month, I seem to have created this association in my brain/emotions:
House = trapped.
Terrible, I know.
So, my usual cozy-meet-with-God moments/places (such as my fave couch spot and my room) no longer feel peaceful. They feel claustrophobic.
Thank you, Lord, for spring weather! It’s finally warming up this week, and I’ve been able to go out to my backyard patio and rest in the sun with my Bible and journal. Ahh… now, THERE is where I feel peace. It’s my fave place to be from April through October. Outside feels restful, peaceful, and free.
(You might like my little post I wrote about my fave outside spot: https://saralivingfree.com/2019/06/15/mid-month-moment-why-i-wrote-a-simple-thank-you-poem-to-god/