The Grace of Ordinary Days
The other day my husband said, “If someone ever wants to find me it will be so easy. I do the same thing morning after morning.” It’s true. Wake up, take meds, pour coffee, and sit down. Open laptop, read newspaper, check sports blog, and then start the day at ten a.m. My husband and I make our schedule with the freedom to choose because we are retired from the workforce and empty nesters.
No kids to feed, get dressed and take to school.
No lunches to make.
No job to get to on time.
No meetings, phone calls or emails.
No schedule.
I will admit to missing this activity now and then. Bless all of you who still maintain this level of production!
Not having urgent or demanding obligations allows us to pick what schedule and timeline to maintain. But it can still become an everyday routine full of progress markers. Is there freedom in the ordinary day or are we pressed to accomplish and produce according to societal expectations? Volunteer, start non-profits, have a cause, and be purposeful!
It helps me to have markers to keep me accountable even in everyday routines. A list to cross off activities accomplished, a friend that obligates me to a regular walk time, or a pesky app on the phone that dings when an event is about to begin. If there is a project to be done in the house, I need an end date. Annual flower pots should be planted by Memorial Day, Christmas shopping completed by December 15th, and vacation reservations should be made two months before departure. End goals motivate me but does humankind care about these particular accomplishments? Even I know these things don’t make up who I am or why I am here. So, what purpose do we fill in our run-of-the-mill free time?
Do you take classes online or attend art classes? Are regular gym visits part of your routine? How about the local food bank volunteering?
I, too, have done these activities. Still, I am left with days when nothing is planned. Should I feel lazy or without purpose on a day I do laundry and change the sheets? What about a day full of errands to the pharmacy, grocery store, post office, and hardware store for that particular tool that keeps getting lost? Scrubbing the toilet bowl may not be my purpose, but it’s satisfying. Those ordinary days without coffee dates, book clubs, or massage appointments hold the potential for grace-filled moments. We can all make ourselves too busy to notice.
There are grace-filled moments like an unexpected hour-long phone call with a friend in need. Meeting a neighbor on the way to the mailbox and listening to her latest doctor appointment details knowing you are the only person she will talk to today. Reading a book left on the bedside table for three months and realizing an hour has passed in a blink. Cooking a new recipe for your spouse that turns out delicious. Or, coming across old photos while cleaning a forgotten closet and being swept away in emotional nostalgia.
There are those who pick up ten thousand Cheerios a day, or patiently read the same children’s book seven hundred times. All of these unplanned voluntary moments within an ordinary day are priceless. Spontaneous acts of kindness can fill you with a true sense of purpose and gratitude that lingers in your soul and gives you peace. Ordinary grace lets you know you are participating in something important!
Society may not hold these pursuits as high accomplishments, but the community would find itself lacking without the unexpected moments of grace revealed in an ordinary day. Sometimes, goodness just happens when and where we least expect it. Impulsive, gracious consequences of common days fill our world and make it better with smiles, laughter, and light.
So the next time you feel motivated to change the world, start by making yourself open and present, available in the moment. You might be surprised at all the ordinary grace around you!
Bit by bit, that’s all she wrote…