Most of life is ordinary, or seems to be ordinary, at least. By definition this must be so. The ordinary, by definition, is that which is most common. It is the normal routine of things. The ordinary is the expected, the usual, the standard. It is not the exception. As such, the majority of that which makes up our lives has to be considered as ordinary. This does not mean it is not incredible, valuable, amazing, and praiseworthy. In a museum filled with masterpieces, to see a great work of art is normal, but that makes it no less a masterpiece.
I think this is what our lives are like too. The world around us is truly a masterpiece, actually it’s many different masterpieces fitting together to make a marvelous design, but because it is the norm, we simply experience these things as ordinary. This is sad, dangerous and difficult to avoid.
IT IS SAD
To not appreciate the ordinary is sad, because we lose the amazing wonder of the ordinary. The fact that we are able to see is ordinary, but the act of sight is truly a miracle. The intricate workings of the parts of the eye, the optic nerve, and the brain, that results in our sight is absolutely incredible. We pass beautiful flowers, trees, and shrubs every day. We see the grandeur of mountains and the vast beauty of oceans, but if we are not careful, we will experience them as just ordinary things, not as the world of beauty that only God could fashion.
IT IS DANGEROUS
To not appreciate the ordinary is also dangerous. When we see creation as ordinary, we steward it poorly, neither caring for it or honoring the God who created it. Worse still, when we fail to understand procreation as a miraculous process by which God amazingly gives life, we often do not value the life initiated by that God-ordained process. The fact that everything that makes us who we are as humans is within cells joined together inside the body of a woman is beyond incredible, even though it happens so often that we deem it ordinary. We lose sight of the miraculous gift of God that life is, and it becomes something not to be treasured.
ORDINARY CAN BE MIRACULOUS
God is certainly in the miraculous, but He is also in the ordinary. God took a common basin of water and a normal towel, and demonstrated the extraordinary concept of true servant leadership. God is in the common and routine acts of life. He is intricately involved in every detail of the world. A sparrow doesn’t fall to the ground without Him knowing. Not a hair will fall from your head without Him knowing it, as He knows the number of hairs on each of our heads at all times.
Don’t despise the ordinary. The ordinary is often miraculous, but it can easily be overlooked because it is common. Look more closely. The masterpieces are all around you. Appreciate the ordinary.
As Lent commences on Ash Wednesday, we are entering a time of introspection and prayer leading to Easter. Let us reflect on the significance of death preceding resurrection, urging readers to embrace a daily practice of surrendering self in preparation for our spiritual transformation.