Most of life is lived in ordinary days.
Not during major celebrations or dramatic moments. Not during milestone achievements or extraordinary experiences. Life mostly unfolds in routines.
Waking up. Driving familiar roads. Answering emails. Preparing meals. Running errands. Attending meetings. Having conversations. Folding laundry. Sitting quietly at the end of long days.
And if we are not careful, we can begin treating ordinary days as interruptions instead of life itself.
We keep waiting for something bigger. More exciting. More meaningful. Meanwhile beautiful moments quietly pass us by unnoticed.
The older I become, the more I appreciate ordinary days.
Not because every day is easy. Some ordinary days include grief, stress, fatigue, and frustration. But even difficult ordinary days often contain unnoticed gifts.
A conversation with a friend. A sunrise. A kind text message. A quiet prayer. A peaceful evening. A moment of unexpected gratitude.
Shared laughter. Shared tears.
These moments may seem small, but eventually we realize they were never small at all.
They were life.
Looking back across the years, many memories that remain most meaningful were not dramatic public moments. They were simple experiences shared with people I love. Quiet conversations. Long walks. Family dinners. Ordinary evenings that became sacred simply because we were fully present.
Perhaps one reason many people struggle with contentment is because we continually overlook the beauty already surrounding us.
We assume meaning only exists in extraordinary experiences.
But Scripture repeatedly reminds us otherwise.
God often works through ordinary people in ordinary places during ordinary days.
A shepherd in a field.
Fishermen beside a lake. A family meal. A quiet prayer. A conversation along the road.
Maybe holiness is closer than we realize.
Maybe grace appears more often in small moments than dramatic ones.
Maybe the life we keep waiting for is already unfolding around us.
So this week, try not to rush through ordinary days searching for something else.
Pay attention. Slow down. Notice people. Notice beauty. Notice God’s presence.
Because someday these ordinary days may become the moments you miss most.
I really got an understanding of the importance of the ordinary days in this blog. I think the biggest takeaway I got from this blog is the importance of taking in the small things in our lives. We do tend to wait for the biggest things and in that waiting we miss the moments that are most beautiful. Just as it is said in the blog, things just like simple conversations or walks can be so beneficial. We also see the emphasis on ordinary people being used by the Lord for extraordinary things. I think more often than not, the Lord speaks in the simple, small moments rather than the extravagant ones. I think recently the Lord has been teaching me to slow down and just watch. To just see what is right in front of me.
I agree with everything you said. I live for the ordinary days; I feel God in the ordinary days. What may be different for me than for the usual college student is my age. I used to love the excitement and hate the monotony, but all of that has changed the older I have gotten. I hear God in the silence. I see Him in the stillness of my day. I feel as though we want big moments, not only from life, but from God as well. I do not think that is how it works. I see Him and hear Him most in the ordinary days that I truly, truly treasure.
I really connected with this blog because it is easy to get so caught up in what is coming next that you miss what is actually happening right in front of you. I do that more than I would like to admit. But honestly, it is usually the small, ordinary moments with the people I love that end up sticking with me the most, not the big planned-out ones. This was a good reminder to just slow down, pay attention, and notice God in the middle of everyday life.
Pastor Chris, this was very insightful, and it really does make you think maybe we are trying to rush through life and forget about the simple things. I often find myself trying to hurry to get through things because I feel as though there is no time, and whenever something small happens, I think I didn’t do enough, but I should take time to slow down and remember the small things in my life and maybe even take time just to sit. Reading this makes me realise how I should really appreciate the small moments instead of chasing big moments.
I really enjoyed this post and how realistic it is. There are very few days in my life that I would consider extraordinary, but many that are ordinary. It is so important to not take for granted the little things in life. I know that there are so many times that I have taken little things for granted. Every single day there are little things that happen that are just run of the mill. Every day we do them without thinking once about them. We need to be focusing on the ordinary days and being intentional in them, not just surviving through them.
I really resonate with this blog entry. I feel like in my head my life is a stream of the big things i do or have done. As if im moving from one thing to the next with random buffer days inbetween. But in reality there are ordinary days that are a blessing, not an interruption. I feel as though I haven’t been as intentional as I need to with these ordinary days. Slow down, be patient, are boith things I stuggle with but need to work on because that is how to best observe, grow, and live life. Thank you so much for this Pastor Chris!
I really enjoyed reading this blog. The past few days I’ve grown to realize that where I’m at is where God wants me. I keep thinking of the future and plans coming up, thinking ill be satisfied when those future moments happen but that’s not how we are meant to live life, we are meant to be present with the now. Soaking up every moment the Lord has placed us in, even the ordinary ones.
The things you said in this blog were really a great reminder for me! I often times can get really caught up in the busyness of life and routines, that I often times miss what God is trying to do and show me in the ordinary moments of my life. I think about just a normal day on campus at Emmanuel. From going to classes and going to the cafeteria and hanging out with my friends and sharing meals together and being in chapel services together and being at singers practices together and being a part of events and social gatherings together. There’s so many opportunities to share, meaningful moments and experiences with people, but I definitely struggle with just taking them as they come and being present in each moment. Hearing you share your thoughts about this is definitely an encouraging reminder for me, to just take life as it comes and embrace each moment in every day, even what we may think as the ordinary ones.
Hello, Pastor Chris! I really enjoyed reading this post. I don’t think you could’ve said it better. I think that because of our busy routine we tend to overlook the little things in life. Personally, I have found the little things and moments more meaningful than the extravagant experiences. Something like just talking to a friend, or watching a movie with my family, or even sitting in the floor for a couple minutes with my dog. During summer, I went to Puerto Rico and I was pretty much at the house with my little cousins. Even though I couldn’t do much during those 2 weeks, being at the house with them became one of my favorite things to do. A way to learn how to live these ideas can be by reducing phone usage when we have conversations with people. That way we are fully engaged in the conversation and we learn how to appreciate those little moments.
I really enjoyed this post because it is real. I actually don’t look around and enjoy life. I spend most of it trying to get my to do list done when in reality I just need to stop and enjoy the moment. Many times, I find myself looking back on moments and thinking to myself that I wished I had lived more in the present instead of the future. It’s the little moments in life that build us and make us who we are, not the major things. Many times, I find myself seeking the major moments without taking time to learn in the small ones, so I am going to take this time to become more aware of the moment.
I firmly believe in finding God in the ordinary. One time I took my little niece to the park and I just sat enjoyed watching her play. Her life while on the swings was so bright and gave me so much peace that I knew it was from God. This blog helped remind me again to slow down and continue to find God in the ordinary things of life like I used to.