This article is courtesy of HomeLife.
Author Calvin Miller relays a story about how a young girl stood in her Sunday School class to quote John 3:16, her favorite Bible verse: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have ever-laughing life.”
While she got the verse wrong, she wasn’t far from the truth. In John 10:10, Jesus said, “I have come that [you] may have life and have it in abundance.” In other words, “I have come that you might live life to the fullest.” The reality, however, is that life is mostly mundane — doing what we’re supposed to do, when we’re supposed to do it. So how do we reconcile the ho-hum of everyday with God’s promise for abundant living?
We begin by seeing the mundane as the window God uses to show us the important things in life — His creation, the sound of laughter, the words I love you, opportunities to sing His praise.
The Miracle of the Mundane
Sometimes it’s easy to forget what we have to celebrate, but stop for a moment once in a while to consider the miracle of the mundane.
Each new day is a gift from God. Every day the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening. It’s such a common occurrence; it’s easy to forget what a miracle it is to see another day. Psalm 118:24 reminds us, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Many times we let a day pass us by while we wait for some elusive tomorrow to arrive when things will be perfect. In his book The Life You’ve Always Wanted, John Ortberg comments, “I realized that I tend to divide my minutes into two categories: living and waiting to live. … If we wait until conditions are perfect, we will still be waiting when we die.”
We wait for a better home before inviting friends over, a better marriage before we can be fulfilled, or fitting into our “thin” clothes before we go out and have fun. But in doing so, we put off the joy God has waiting for us today.
“Most of life is spent in transit: trying to get somewhere, waiting to begin, driving someplace,” Ortberg writes. “These are all moments when I am not likely to be fully present, not to be aware of the voice and purpose of God. … Often the thing that keeps me from experiencing joy is my preoccupation with self. The very selfishness that keeps me from pouring myself out for the joy of others also keeps me from noticing and delighting in the myriad small gifts God offers each day.”
The key to celebrating the mundane is learning to be present in each moment of the day, learning to pay attention to and delight in the small things.
Jesus celebrated the gift of life while He was on earth. His first miracle took place during a wedding when He turned water into wine. His first miracle wasn’t exactly life changing. He didn’t heal the lame or restore sight to the blind; He performed a miracle simply so people could celebrate the joining of two lives a little longer.
Celebrating Life
Ecclesiastes 8:15 says, “So I commended enjoyment, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun except to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, for this will accompany him in his labor during the years of his days that God gives him under the sun.” So how do we begin to celebrate the life God has given us?
1. Practice thankfulness. Marcy, a wife and mother of three, allowed the disappointment of not achieving her goal of becoming an attorney to taint her outlook. This changed, however, the day Marcy heard her 6-year-old daughter say, “Life is hard, and then you die,” a pessimistic phrase Marcy often used.
“I fell to my knees, crying for forgiveness that my negative view of life had been passed to my child,” Marcy remembers. That day she changed her attitude, and it changed her life. She took her kids outside for a walk and started the sentence, “Let’s thank God for … .” Then she let her children fill in the blank. They thanked Him for birds, flowers, the wind, cookies, and mommy.
“Practicing being thankful for every single thing — the food I ate, the house I lived in, the clothes I wore — changed my life and saved my family,” Marcy admits. “When I took my focus off myself and what I didn’t have and put it on others and what I had to offer them through the Lord, my whole life became a celebration.”
2. Delight in the little things. Some people just seem to have a knack for enjoying life. Ortberg calls them “joy-carriers.” His suggestion for those of us having a hard time celebrating life is to surround ourselves with these people and make them our “joy-mentors.”
One such joy-carrier is Angie Penrod, a home-schooling mother of seven boys, ages 6 months to 13 years. If anyone has an excuse to be too busy for fun, it’s Angie, but she celebrates life to the fullest and makes time for laughter.
Her secret? She credits her mom, who taught her through words and example to notice everything — the smell of the dirt while gardening, the sound of the bugs, the feel of the breeze. “Mom gave me a positive attitude and made me thankful for the small things in life,” Angie says.
Evidently, joyful people notice and appreciate the small things, even while working. You have to do what you have to do, but the mood you do it in is up to you.
3. Embrace childlikeness. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus said, “I assure you … unless you are converted and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Children have a natural impulsiveness that enables them to push their plans aside and enjoy the moment. Impulsiveness is not the unpardonable sin. So go ahead and seize a celebration when God sends one.
4. Slow down. Our society suffers from what John Ortberg refers to as “hurry sickness.” He explains, “Hurry is not a disordered schedule. Hurry is a disordered heart.”
But there is a simple cure for hurry sickness: Stop hurrying. If you’re too busy and stressed out to celebrate life, then eliminate time wasters. Turn off the television. Streamline your to-do list. Stop to talk to others. Listen. Love and pray for people.
5. Choose to celebrate. There will be days when the thief is intent on stealing the abundant life Jesus came to give, days we’re sure we’d be excused from celebrating life. But God gives us ever-laughing life inside, even when we’re crying on the outside. No matter how sad or simply everyday and mundane your life is at the moment, God has surrounded you with opportunities and people to enjoy. So get out there, and make the most of the celebrations God’s given you. There’s no better time to start than today.
Marie Armenia is a writer, songwriter, singer, and speaker whose greatest joy comes from teaching the Word of God. She lives in Spring Hill, Tenn., with her husband.
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