When the Mundane Begs an Answer

“Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes.”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Laundry piled high again. Dirty dishes spilling out of the sink. Windows smeared. Everyone needing something at the same time. It’s all a seeming mess, and I’m wrung clear out.

And as I’m scrubbing the toilet, I wonder, what is it all about? What is the purpose of one more day of food preparation and child bathing and clothes folding and going to the work place and lending a listening ear? It all repeats in a dizzying manner. Where is the glory in this? 

And the answer slaps: Apart from God, there is no meaning in what is being done on this spinning earth; there is no glory. 

Apart from God, there is no meaning in what is being done on this spinning earth; there is no glory. Click To Tweet

Then if done just to do, all is meaningless. For it will all pass away. If the only concern is addressing the temporal and ignoring the eternal, then real meaning doesn’t exist.

But for the grace of God none of this earthly life would have purpose. He makes it all meaningful. The scrubbing, the folding, the hugging, the laughing and crying. It’s all worth it if done in the context of forever. If done in service to Him, in Holy reverence.

This ground we walk on–made with Holy hands. Our lives, planned in His Divine plan. As we walk out His plan, it’s on Holy ground. As we work for Christ, it’s all hallowed.

His fingerprints, they’re found over all His creation. We can find them in all He asks us to do, no matter how low we have to bend to do them. Do we see them? Do we notice God in every bush, not just those burning?

Coincidences are not really coincidences. Mundane chores are not just mundane chores. The Divine dances in and among all we do as His children. 

The Divine dances in and among all we do as His children. Click To Tweet

Listen for His whisper. Look for his fingerprints. 

All heaven and earth are His, made by His hands, Holy by His presence. The Word made flesh. Walking among us. Walking with us.

And it’s all Holy when done on Holy ground, and it’s all hallowed when done for Him. Slip off shoes and tread lightly. Stoop on bended knee.

This is hallowed ground for He works among and through us. He lives in us.

“Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.”

On earth.

Hallowed. Holy.

The giving. The doing. The visiting and sharing.

They’re not mundane chores. They’re sacrificial gifts.

They’re not meaningless movements. They’re parts of worship.

They’re not acts to ease a conscious. They’re tasks to glorify a King.

Move about with awe and reverence and wonder. Glorify the Lord in your tasks today. Do them for Him on this Holy ground where He became flesh. Bend low and lift His name high.

“For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen!”

This day, glorify His name in your daily tasks as you dance in His Divine presence. 

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

Reflection: What is one daily chore you loathe? Do you find it more tolerable when viewed in the context of the Divine?

Linking up again this year with Ann Voskamp’s 2014 Joy Dare. Find the linkup at A Holy Experience. Beginning where I left off in 2013. What a blessing! #2630–2650, read the entire list by clicking here.

•  Rustle of dry leaves clinging to the oak tree; Overtired, goofy Zach; Nice enough to throw the football with Joey
• Wonderful gospel song to end another fabulous high school vocal concert; Headaches are gone!; Six around the dinner table 
• Big boys trying to squeeze into little spaces to hide from their sister–too cute; Attending Lenten service tonight at our small sister church; Spending a few minutes w/ my dear friend
• Snowball ambush on the rest of the Sunne’s, set up with co-conspirator Danny; Enjoying the “big” band sound of West Delaware’s four grade-level bands; Laughter at the card table (and a win in 500)
• Twinkling eyes in the mud-smeared face of my youngest lad; Traveling mercies for Dan; White clouds blowing past towering pines
• Sound of high water crashing over the dam; Hiking with Joey through the falling snow; Quietude of the park in winter
• Rebirth in Christ through baptism–honor to witness; Rachel’s love of our nightly reading–spent with Joey too; Day well spent simplifying and prioritizing

By His grace ≈

Julie