Purpose in the Ordinary
(Here's the giveaway.)
You may or may not know that the term 'Ordinary Time' comes from the church liturgical calendar. It is the time of year when it is not Christmas or Easter or Advent or Lent or Pentecost, but all those in between times. The holidays are special and help us to remember important things, but Ordinary Time is holy as well. My blog is thus called to remind me of this fact. The ordinary is important. If we live only for the special we miss out on a lot of life.
Remembering the importance of the ordinary helps us to pay attention to it. Without consciously thinking about our daily lives it is so easy to lose track of the small moments in the midst of our busy-ness. And it doesn't have to be business outside the home, we can become too busy with our to-do lists inside the home as well. Our lists of 'ought to' start to take center stage and push aside the truly important: the people in our lives.
Because that is why we work at making a home, keeping it clean and tidy, cooking good food, ensuring all are clothed, isn't it? Because of the people in the house whom we love. Isn't it? I don't know about you, but it is so easy for me to forget this simple fact. The reason I have a to-do list is because I care about the people in my life and want to take care of them. It's when the doing for people takes precedence over being with people that things go wrong.
So I try to remember that it is the everyday moments that will form the bulk of my children's memories of their childhood. I try to remember that not only does keeping up with the laundry mean that the job feels easier but also makes the process of getting dressed easier for my children. I try to remember that while a clean and picked-up home is nice the real reason is that it is more comfortable for my family and guests. I try to remember that healthy home-cooked food not only feeds the body but nourishes the souls of my family as well. If I focus on the people behind the task not only does it make the work seem lighter but it gives purpose to the work.
It's just the same as I tell my children (often): it's people that are important, not things. But for mothers and homemakers we often need to add: it's the people that are important not things or items crossed off a to-do list.
You may or may not know that the term 'Ordinary Time' comes from the church liturgical calendar. It is the time of year when it is not Christmas or Easter or Advent or Lent or Pentecost, but all those in between times. The holidays are special and help us to remember important things, but Ordinary Time is holy as well. My blog is thus called to remind me of this fact. The ordinary is important. If we live only for the special we miss out on a lot of life.
Remembering the importance of the ordinary helps us to pay attention to it. Without consciously thinking about our daily lives it is so easy to lose track of the small moments in the midst of our busy-ness. And it doesn't have to be business outside the home, we can become too busy with our to-do lists inside the home as well. Our lists of 'ought to' start to take center stage and push aside the truly important: the people in our lives.
Because that is why we work at making a home, keeping it clean and tidy, cooking good food, ensuring all are clothed, isn't it? Because of the people in the house whom we love. Isn't it? I don't know about you, but it is so easy for me to forget this simple fact. The reason I have a to-do list is because I care about the people in my life and want to take care of them. It's when the doing for people takes precedence over being with people that things go wrong.
So I try to remember that it is the everyday moments that will form the bulk of my children's memories of their childhood. I try to remember that not only does keeping up with the laundry mean that the job feels easier but also makes the process of getting dressed easier for my children. I try to remember that while a clean and picked-up home is nice the real reason is that it is more comfortable for my family and guests. I try to remember that healthy home-cooked food not only feeds the body but nourishes the souls of my family as well. If I focus on the people behind the task not only does it make the work seem lighter but it gives purpose to the work.
It's just the same as I tell my children (often): it's people that are important, not things. But for mothers and homemakers we often need to add: it's the people that are important not things or items crossed off a to-do list.
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