Meaning in the Mundane
Daily Life Overflows With Daily Life
October 01, 2018
"Pleasant ways and kindly words and simple duty-doing, in these things of every day life Christ is manifested." Charlotte Mason, Scale How Mediations
I want to do great things! I want to change the world! I want to put a dent in the universe! Meaning is one of the many reasons that a lot of us chose to homeschool. Homeschooling is hard but it’s important.
We take on the “hard but important” to make our lives significant, only to discover that Monday is full of the mundane. Tuesday through Sunday aren’t looking too exciting either. Daily life still overflows with daily life, even for homeschoolers and others who seem to have glamorous or high-impact jobs.
My sister and I spent three weeks with a missionary family in the Dominican Republic. I thought missionaries were super holy and spent all their time tending to the down-trodden. But to my surprise they had to live daily life just like me.
They had a house to clean and food to cook just like everyone else! It’s quite possible those mundane tasks took longer because they were new to the culture. They had to figure out how it all worked.
So how do you live day in and day out with your daily routine? How do you put a smile on your face and stay focused on what’s important instead of letting the drudgery drag you down? Some helpful suggestions:
- Routine tasks can be a comfort in times of grief or stress. One foot in front of the other without needing to think too much.
- Good character is formed through diligent habits. Each task is a building block that makes an impressive structure when finished, a pleasing home and countenance for you and your family.
- Pleasant and earnest thoughts have time to ruminate as you work with your hands. Good music creates a pleasant atmosphere. Quality reading provides ideas to ponder. There’s time to pray. There’s time to contemplate. There’s time to solve.
- God cares for birds as they eat and sing, make homes, and care for their young. He cares for us too, even as we go about our daily tasks. The tasks seem unworthy to us, but our attitude about these duties is part of how we bring glory to Him even if (perhaps, especially if) no one else ever sees it.
- Laundry and dishes, baths and clean-up, replying to emails and writing thank-you notes can all be part of a God-glorifying life if we change our perspective and live those moments fully.