Finding Beauty in the Ordinary

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She started noticing a pattern in church conversations.

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Everyone seemed to be using terms like radical, extraordinary, and world-changing to describe what we should be doing as followers of Christ. But Julie Canlis kept wondering, what about dishdoing?

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Or commuting, maybe answering emails? Or what about the stuff like making one more PB&J? Her question was, does God meet us in those mundane, everyday things, or only on the mountaintop? Or when we do something radical for Jesus?

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That question turned into a small book with a claim I believe will encourage you. It's that ordinary life is not a detour from discipleship. It's the workshop of discipleship.

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Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Léger, and today we're talking about something we rarely slow down to consider. That's how God meets us in the most ordinary parts of our day. not just in the big spiritual moments or the major life events, but in laundry, school runs, board meetings, email replies, and conversations with neighbors. Ordinary doesn't mean empty. Ordinary is where God forms us. Ecclesiastes 3.11 says, Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart. But even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. This verse reminds us that God is doing something beautiful, even when we don't recognize it, and even when the moment feels small or repetitive. Beauty isn't only found in the extraordinary. It's woven into ordinary days by a God who is always at work. Julie wrote A Theology of the Ordinary, arguing that Jesus came down to earth as a human being, or as we call it, the Incarnation, and it dignifies the everyday. That Jesus spent 30 quiet years teaching us how to be human with God in the middle of repetitive days. She said, The point isn't to escape the mundane, but to encounter God in it. In things like bed making, key losing, and neighbor greeting, stuff like that. And offer all of it to Him.

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I think that reframes a typical Tuesday. Not, Nothing special happened, but God was shaping me while I showed up. And if we're honest, most of us struggle with the ordinary. We want lives that count. We want purpose and impact and stories that are worth telling. But the truth is, most of the Christian life isn't lived on mountaintops. It's lived in kitchens and offices and warehouses and classrooms and quiet communities. exactly where God meets us. Think about the life of Jesus. 30 years of simple everyday life in Nazareth and the area surrounding, working with His hands, learning Scripture, loving neighbors, obeying His Father. Those years weren't wasted or secondary.

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They were foundational. And they were beautiful. Your ordinary moments matter too. When you fold laundry for your family.

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When you answer emails with integrity. When you drive the same route to work again and again, day after day. When you take a moment to listen patiently to someone and just be present with them. You're practicing discipleship, not missing it. Ecclesiastes 311 tells us God makes everything beautiful in its time. Not just the big moments. Everything.

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Including wiping down counters, creating a podcast, caring for kids, and being faithful in responsibilities no one may see.

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Whether we realize it or not, ordinary faithfulness shapes your heart more than extraordinary moments ever will.

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God plants eternity in our hearts so we can see purpose in the things the world overlooks.

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When you show up with love and patience and with faithfulness, you're being shaped into the image of Jesus. One ordinary moment at a time. Here's today's challenge. Choose one ordinary task you do today. Maybe it's doing dishes. Or it's driving to work or answering emails. And I want you to consciously offer it to God. Pray, Lord, meet me here and shape me while I'm doing this mundane thing. Just shape me while I show up. Then, pay attention to how His presence meets you in that moment. Lord, thank you that you're present in every part of our day. Not just the exciting or the impressive moments, but the simple repetitive ones. Help us see your beauty in the ordinary and trust that you are shaping us through everyday faithfulness.

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Teach us to walk with you in the middle of our normal routines.

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In Jesus' name, amen. Thanks for joining me today on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives.

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Remember, God is shaping you in the ordinary moments of life.

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Come back next time for more encouragement to help you live grounded in God's truth. Until then, God bless and have a great day.