by Jacki Corrigan
“Blessed is the mother who finds the sacred in the ordinary. Her love is constant and steady. Her love makes beautiful what others see as nondescript. Her love delights in every gift of God — large and small. Her love provides fertile soil for a child to grow in grace.”
— Author Unknown
The above quote can help to guide us as we tackle the ordinary in family life.
In my early years as a mother, the “sacred in the ordinary” opened a new way of thinking for me. Finding the sacredness in the ordinary is very difficult when it comes to the washing of dishes and the unending laundry.
To find the sacred in the ordinary takes a conversion of one’s heart. When mundane chores are only seen as work, then they are devoid of love. But to do those acts of service with love and for the good of another, it then elevates our work to a sacred offering.
To embrace the sacred in the ordinary, soft words and gentle kisses administered to a crying child with scraped knees and elbows can heal the broken heart. Love comforts. To welcome the Kool-Aid lines that form at our backdoor, love serves. To feed our families from peanut butter sandwiches to a chicken dinner, love provides.
The presence of a mother as she listens to a child, love cares. When
our love ministers to a child suffering from illness, love heals. When a child struggles from peer pressure, love strengthens. To model right and wrong for our children, love guides. And, when a family prays together, God’s love satisfies.
God gifts us with the ordinary, and it is for us to find the sacred in that gift. I remember the morning school run when the kids were young, and we began our search for the ordinary and thanking God for the gracious gifts he had put into our school commute. We began searching around God’s world in the neighborhood and finding people, things, or reasons to give God glory. From playful puppies and beautiful bluebirds, to the first blooming flowers of spring, to waving at a friend on the playground, to finding a parking spot at school, we could spend our time in the car prayerfully giving thanks to God for all the “ordinary” ways he touched our lives.
As mothers, it is in our everyday encounters, as we strive and struggle to live our lives worthy of the love of Christ, that we are graced by finding him revealed in the many ways that bless us, strengthen us, guide us and sustain us.
