BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO THE ROUTINE
Today is just another day for me, nothing special. I’m going about my routine, performing tasks I’ve performed thousands, if not millions, of times before. Most of them don’t require a lot of thought. But today, as I prepare yet another load of laundry, applying stain stick to the collar of my husband’s dress shirt, my hand stops in mid-air. This verse goes through my mind: “Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord, not for men.” (Colossians 3:23 HCSB) That’s when it hits me. Even doing the laundry should be done with enthusiasm. Instead of dreading doing the permanent press load, I should be grateful for the permanent press. I should clean these collars like I’m cleaning them for Jesus. The floor I need to mop, the furniture that needs dusting, and the dishwasher I have to unload, are all ways I can glorify God.
Most of us aren’t called by God to do something really big for Him. The majority of us are not called to leave home and country to serve God on a different continent thousands of miles away or to put our lives at risk in sharing the gospel. He asks us to serve Him through our daily lives, doing whatever He puts in front of us to do. So that mundane existence you live, and I live, isn’t mundane at all. Those tasks we consider menial or unimportant, take on a new significance when we remember we are doing them for the Creator of the Universe.
Just like that my attitude changes. I pick up the dirty socks off the floor and thank God for my husband. I step on yet another Lego, but this time, instead of feeling the pain, I’m feeling grateful for my beautiful grandchildren and I say a prayer for them. Finding another dirty glass in the office, I walk it out to the dishwasher, thanking God for a husband who studies the Bible and lives it. Instead of tasks to do, I see blessings.
My life consists of more than doing these kinds of tasks, but I now have a new appreciation for them. I’m no longer on a treadmill going nowhere, just doing things for the sake of doing them. I’m no longer performing tasks because “someone has to do it.” Thanks to the Holy Spirit’s nudging, I’m viewing them as acts of service to God. That makes all the difference. I go back to applying the stain stick to my husband’s shirts. These are going to be the best looking collars ever. After all, I’m cleaning them for Jesus.
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17
Used with permission from Linda Condolora. To read more of Linda’s writing visit https://blog.lindacondolora.com/.
