Every school year is different from the one before. I suppose that even days are always different from the one before and each day had it's own troubles. This year, I find I have little time for solitude. I love the word solitude. It speaks to me of quiet reflection, peace and quietness of the soul. My days are filled and often I feel like Susanna Wesley and I need to throw my apron over my head to pray.
When I was a young woman, I was always worried about having a ministry or having a job or all the things that seem important when you are young. I thought somehow I would miss it all by choosing to say home and raise my babies. How could anything that mundane be important? One of the things I think this age causes in which we live is to forget the quietness and peace of just living an ordinary life. In the book " Be Still My Soul, by Elisabeth Elliot she says " The way of the Cross is an ordinary street in an ordinary city. It is an ordinary life lived in the grace of God. There is a pot of gold there that is a king's reward, but it comes at the end of the journey."
As a woman who has spent the greater part of her life living an very ordinary life, just taking care of my family, waiting 20 years for my first report card which came when my daughter was accepted into college is a long time to wait to find out if your ordinary life mattered or not.
In the past, I thought so much about if I was doing the will of God, but now I understand these words so much better than I did then. " Do you think the Shepherd is going to make it hard for the sheep to follow Him? The Shepherd is much more interested in making sure the sheep get to where they belong than the sheep are in getting there.
So today, I will be doing ordinary things, in an ordinary house, doing all of my ordinary things. I am still so thankful that I have given a life filled to the brim with lots of ordinary things.
Have a lovely Monday,
I hope it is just a normal, ordinary day.
~Kim~
18 comments:
i love the way you put that you had to wait 20 yrs for your own report card - that your daughter was accepted into college - that you did right. :)
I've been cleaning house and doing school. It's such a nice morning. I'm thankful for ordinary, too. :-)
I think that I live an ordinary life for a farmer's wife and I've been at home all my married life, and as I raised my 4 kids I wanted a job like everyone doing something meaningful and I also wanted a sense of self worth, not realizing what I was doing was working at the hardest job there is. Raising a family.
What is ordinary to one is not ordinary to another one. Funny how life is.
Hugs,
JB
Motherhood is one of the greatest jobs in the world...and one of the most important. You (we) are training and nurturing the next generation. That is a tremendous responsibility...nothing ordinary about it! :-)
The last word I would use to describe you is ordinary. Possible Extraordinary. You are not giving yourself enough credit. I wish more people like you were raising and developing the next generations. I sit in an office all day being ordinary. You have made a home and happy people to fill it. That is not ordinary dear friend.
People always think I'm so oppressed and hard up because I stay home with my kids and take care of my house. I "stay home and do nothing" or, I "don't do anything" (according to our neighbor). But I've always felt I have the most important job - first as Ben's wife, then as mother to my children, and now as teacher as well. How can this not be considered a mission?
Hello Kim, do what your heart tells you, live for you and what you like. Being a stay ay home mom is working constantly, no way ordinary, follow your heart, be happy. Blessings Francine.
Susanna Wesley certainly did have a full house to keep her occupied! What a wonderful job she did with two in particular! Her son, Charles was a wonderful composer of hymns. We sing many of them in our church. Her son, John, is considered the founder of Methodism - our church. "Ordinary days" can have their own "magic!"
xo Nellie
Yay! True, true words!
I savored every moment of my home years and now I still long for them. I applaud you and I love your heart!
Beautiful, just beautiful!
Thank you for sharing your heart- it was a blessing to me! Thank you for your testimony!
Blessings,
Glad you got your "stuff"! Hope it is helpful. Don't we all wish our yards looked like the ones in Southern Living'?!?! :-)
Love your sunflowers!
I am very much ordinary ann!
Thank our God, He lets me be!
This was a wonderful post!
Oh Kim, again do I ever get this. I too always felt that way and considered myself just an ordinary woman doing a very ordinary job. Nothing special, no big ministry, wondering if I made a difference anywhere. But I have come to the conclusion while we may be ordinary, our God certainly is not. He put us right where we were/are and blessed us with abilities to do what we did. And it was a BIG job....and so now we can be thankful for the ordinary! HUGS
Wonderful post- and there certainly is no "ordinary" about being a stay at home mom.
there is nothing ordinary about what you do kim.....gorgeous images today!!
ordinariness is WAY under-rated. i love
your sentiments on this.
i also love your running basket tally of
fruits and vegetables. nothing ordinary
about that!
So, so, so beautifully said!! Our lives are very much alike in many ways :) I was just thinking today about how there was so much I wanted to do when I was younger, but God had different plans, better plans :)
I loved Elisabeth Elliot's radio show too :)
Blessings,
Marcia
What a beautiful post! You have such a beautiful way with words. I'm reminded that our God specializes in using ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things ... the scriptures are full of examples. I think that's still true today.
Post a Comment