“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” (1Corinthians 10:31)

My feet are killing me. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse. That plane ride took forever. This is the best book ever written. I’ve told you this a million times.

Much of our lives are sprinkled with hyperbole – a common expression defined as exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. Perhaps that’s because we humans have always been enticed by the “shiny new object.” And I wonder if that’s because our misguided hunger for what’s new, popular, unique, and exciting holds us captive to our vanity?

In our Western Christianity we tend to follow the liturgical seasons and we are now in the time after Pentecost – a time Lutherans also reference as Ordinary Time. Depending how you count it, it’s 33 or 34 weeks and the liturgical color is always green.

When you hear the word “ordinary” what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Boring? Familiar? Usual? Plain? I think it’s fairly common for most of us to think of “ordinary” in this way, but I do wonder if beauty and amazement can be found in the “ordinary,” especially because so much of our lives are spent in seemingly “ordinary” moments.

We usually eat and sleep at about the same time each day. Our daily diets are fairly usual. The routes we commute to work, school, and social activities are so routine that our smart phones often tell us where we’re going and when we’ll get there even before we’ve left the house.

But ordinary doesn’t have to mean insignificant or unimportant. Sleeping is certainly a very ordinary thing to do, but it’s critical for our health and well-being. The ordinary, “thank you” and “you’re welcome” exchanged between people might not solve world hunger, but it does matter.

So much of the ordinary in our world goes unnoticed. So much of the ordinary never makes the news. But let me tell you, ordinary matters. Just ask anyone going through grief counseling and they’ll tell you without hesitation that they’d give anything to have another “ordinary” moment with their loved one who died.

The ordinary moments of our lives don’t have to leave us sedated, bored, or uninterested. Just take a good look around you. Take a moment to actually notice and appreciate all the people and things that ordinarily surround you each day.

Love, grace, mercy, death, resurrection, prayer, Jesus, rest, food, nature, laughter, work, family, and friends – these are just some of the amazing things that make up my ordinary life. And yet, as I take time to reflect on each of them and the value they have in my life I begin to notice them no longer as ordinary but extraordinary. My simple prayer is that in all things each one of us would take the time to dwell on and give thanks and praise to God who graciously gifts us every ordinary-extraordinary thing.

~ Pastor Tony