Sunday Sentiments: Finding Worship in the Ordinary

 

The Saturday after New Year’s Day was a full day in our little home. My favorite kind of Saturday is the one in which I can sleep as long as I want, stay in my jammies all day, and enjoy being home. I don’t mind being productive, but I prefer a leisurely productivity, not a race against a clock.

            The Saturday after New Year’s Day was not that day.

            Ryan got up early to drive to the lake house to complete a long list of projects. One of our friends went to help him, and the two of them had a great (and productive) day of marking off list items! He came home late that afternoon with a giant grin and a spring in his step.

            I, on the other hand, worked on normal breathing rhythms.

            I’d gotten up when Ryan did and immediately launched into chores. My main task for the day was to pull down all the Christmas decorations around the house, purge the things I knew would not be a good fit at our new house, and pack away the rest. I wanted to put new labels on all the storage tubs, since the old labels were five years (or more!) old and no longer really applicable to what I found in the tubs.

            Taking down decorations with the help of a puppy is not for the faint of heart. I was trying to go slowly enough to be careful with our fragile ornaments, but quickly enough to get the job done, because I did not have a single moment to spare.

            The more I took down, the sadder the house looked. For the first time ever, I wasn’t putting regular décor back in its place, because everything that was there is now packed for our move. The trees left naked spots next to the TV, and the entry table just sat, waiting to receive packages and serving no other purpose.

            While I worked on that giant project, I also washed and dried our sheets, so I could make our bed. I cleaned all the fruit I’d purchased at the store the night before. I made a cheesecake trifle for small group. I pulled off all my nail polish and applied a new manicure. I touched up my roots, washed and dried my hair, and got ready for small group. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher. And somewhere in there (before the shower and getting ready part) I did my workout for the day. Literally every other move in the workout was a burpee. I hate burpees. By the end of the workout, Lexi was hanging over the baby gate, watching my eyes with genuine concern, while I lied and told her I was fine.

            Ryan came home and carried the trifle (my arms were done) to the car, and we went to small group, where I looked forward to three things: seeing our friends, eating good food, and sitting.

            In the middle of juggling a thousand tasks and nervously watching the hands on the clock swing closer to small group time, I found myself unable to catch a deep breath. Wasn’t January supposed to be new, fresh, and amazing? Why could I only find the stress?

            Somewhere in the middle of that, I managed to scroll Instagram long enough to catch this post from my good friend, Brent Vernon:

“January reminds me that there's a whole year ahead of me and so much has to be done that I have little to no control over. So I feel like I'm spinning my wheels sometimes. Thankfully, I've noticed this pattern and things typically work out just fine.

“This morning, I went to the park with my coffee as I do. I told the Lord that I was not depressed or even terribly discouraged. But neither did I, at the moment, feel particularly encouraged and certainly not euphoric.

“It's the perfect time, I thought, to praise the Lord.

“I've become somewhat skeptical of public worship posture and affectation. I question this of myself when I sing praise and am aware that people could be watching. I also realize that it's quite easy to lift my hands and sing the praises of God when everything is going well. Certainly it's natural to do so when you've been through a difficult situation, and survived.

“Tonight, I know that so many of you are struggling with big problems and questions I haven't even thought of. I don't know that the Holy Spirit will, in every situation, make you okay emotionally. Maybe the questions that haunt you will lead to important answers, or grant you a depth of empathy and understanding. Maybe that extended dark path will lead you somewhere you could never have imagined, and wouldn't trade.

“Whatever it is, I hope you're able to praise Him tonight. We have a wonderful Savior who deserves every bit of it.

            So I determined, right there in my kitchen, to praise the Lord. I would praise Him for the beautiful decorations I’d packed away and for the lake house where I would unpack them next year. I would praise Him for a husband with unending levels of skill who works so tirelessly to do projects at the lake that I don’t know how to do. He’s saved us so much money by using his own talent. I would praise Him for the money to buy food for our family and to share with our small group. I would praise Him for a love of cooking that made me excited to put together a dessert to share. I would praise Him for the ability to move, however awkwardly, in a workout. I would praise Him for friends to share the evening with and the encouragement I knew we would find.

            I’m trying to do it more and more. Praise Him for the terribly ordinary parts of every day. Praise Him because He is worthy and deserves every bit of it, just as Brent said.