A few Christmases ago, I saved up some money and got a Vitamix blender. I was pumped! My Ninja was on it’s last leg and from everything I had heard, Vitamix was the way to go when you use a blender on an almost daily basis. Not only was it Christmas Day when I opened it, but my excitement rivaled that of my children! It was something brand new, not dents or scratches, shiny and worked the way it was supposed to. When you eat just about every meal at home, this will make a mama happy! Me in emojis: ????
Now that I’ve had it for a few years, I still love my Vitamix. It’s become a part of my cooking life now. Even though I still greatly enjoy it, the newness of it has worn off. I’m no longer impressed by its power or its ability to blend all of my frozen fruits for my smoothies. It’s just a part of my daily routine now. You might be thinking, “Gail, why are you telling us this?” Great question!
I think life is a lot like my new blender. We’re always looking for the new thing, aren’t we? When we get it, we are thrilled, excited, ready to cook up a storm using our new gadget! After time, it’s not longer fun, cooking becomes a chore again, and while we are grateful for the tool that makes it easier, it no longer holds the same appeal it did when we first got it.
mundane motherhood
Mom life is like my blender. The thrill of new life overwhelms us in a good way. The “firsts” are joy-filled moments. After a while, though, it becomes mundane. New dishes make us happy, until we realize they still need to washed. New clothes make us feel confident, until we realize it makes more laundry to have more clothes. Our children do silly things that make us laugh, until it grates on our nerves and instead annoys us. Discipline gets old after a while and we struggle to stay consistent. Right? We want the new thing to keep us excited about life!
Yet, I think there is something beautiful in embracing the mundane. Paul tells us that whatever we do, do it for the glory of God. That includes the things that we do day in and day out as mothers (or fathers). Life has its ebbs and flows; times of excitement and thrills, and times when we just need to get done what needs to get done. However, I know I often look for the next shiny thing to keep me going.
contentment
When that shiny new object catches your eye and entices you, remember that it ultimately won’t make you happy or bring you the joy you are searching for. Neither will me-time or girls night out when it’s not rooted in who God is and the strength He desires to give us to get through those moments of mundane motherhood. Contentment is a trait that is learned. Most of us don’t naturally have contentment in our list of character traits.
Paul tells Timothy that “Contentment with godliness is great gain.” What if we learned to be content in all circumstances instead of striving after the next thing that catches our eye? What if we were able to see how great the things we have are, even after their ‘shine’ is gone? What if it’s really just our perspective?
embrace the mundane
Greg eats the same thing just about every day. He has become an expert at embracing the mundane, at least in my opinion! Because there are more areas than motherhood where life can just seem to get old. When you do the same thing every day at work, it gets old. Exercise isn’t alway exciting and doesn’t always deliver the results that you want when you want them. Eating right can be boring. Dishes and laundry, Mount Never Finished, can most definitely become a chore if we let it.
What if we changed the way we thought about the mundane? What if we became experts at embracing it? Folding laundry? Thank God you have clothes to wear and the convenience of a washer and dryer. Dishes piling up? Thank God that you have food to eat! Are your children’s toys scattered all over the floor and you are picking them up… again?! Be grateful that they have the blessing of toys. On the days you have to really motivate yourself to exercise, thank God that you are even able to!
I know I am better off when I stop looking for the next new and shiny thing in my life. I’m more content when I look around me and see just how blessed I am instead of believing that whatever was on the latest infomercial will really satisfy the longing in my heart. Only God can do that, but we so often try to fill that void with other things.
God is in our everyday life. We just have to look for Him. We need gospel vision to see Him working around us, in us, and through us. God is with us in the valleys and on the mountain tops, through the ebbs and flows of life. Even when life seems blah, He is there. Today, will you make an effort embrace the mundane? Will you allow God to show you the areas where your discontentment turn things into a chore instead of a joy?
I hope you will join me in this. I know I need to work on having a grateful heart, to do everything without arguing or complaining. I know the newest thing won’t bring me any more joy or happiness than I have right now. Just for today I will declare that I am an expert at embracing the mundane.
