I clearly remember a day about six years ago when I encountered a friend’s social media post about finding God in the laundry. I remember thinking, “I used to find Jesus in everyday things, too.” The thought revealed dryness and disconnection in my spiritual life, which triggered envy. As pastors, it is easy to get all too contained and restricted by the walls of our offices. God is with us there, but sometimes, he is hard to see, feel, remember, and experience. Sometimes, the best jumpstart to a vibrant spiritual life is a return to ordinary life and tasks. Summer is a great time to make this shift. Imagine time stretching out luxuriously with the freedom of no schedule, just like when we were kids. If you are stuck, the next big move for your spiritual life may not be one of more devotion, further doctrine, more arduous study, or greater discipline. It may be a foray into margin, breathing, watching, waiting, and remembering how the rest of the world works and lives.
The following five points invite you to rekindle a vibrant but ordinary spiritual life with God.
- Move from distracted to delighted.
In an article on the “sacred ordinary,” Keith Riley states, “We live in a God-soaked world.” As ministers, we know God is present in every part of every day, but sometimes our God-receptors get turned down. This is especially true when we allow the walls of our offices or our computer screens to remain our only view day after day. If you feel dull and uninspired, ask the Holy Spirit to help you reimagine your routines and environment. Dallas Willard says, “Until our thoughts of God have found every visible thing… glorious with his presence, the word of Jesus has not yet fully seized us.”
What pieces of your life and work diminish your ability to notice and delight in the minute things of God? What things are disconnecting you from the present and the Presence?
- Live eternal life in ordinary time.
It is the gift of God to give himself to us in beauty and glory every day. Unfortunately, we miss the revelation when we refuse to stop and make time. Often, it is not a purposeful nor active move on our part that slides us toward blindness. Rather, we fail to clear our schedules and rush through life distracted. Sarah Damaska writes about baking bread as a spiritual discipline. She chooses a prolonged process over the quick fix of the store-bought variety, even though it requires clearing an entire morning. Her choice unlocks something of living “eternal life in ordinary time” (Peterson).
What would it take for you to become one who relished eternal moments in the here and now? How might this influence your conceptualization of the kingdom come and not-yet-come?
- Ask God for more.
We must be careful not to make every moment and everything into something deep and weighty. There is something to just enjoying life for life’s sake. If you are feeling dry, disheartened, or discouraged, ask God to reignite your first love and show you how he’s wooing you into a fresh relationship. If you are feeling inspired and alive in Christ, perhaps you may ask God for the sake of your brothers and sisters in ministry to revive and revitalize those feeling weary and blind.
Who comes to mind when you think of revitalizing ministry and passion? When did you last ask God to increase your awareness of him in ordinary spaces?
- Get comfortable with humility.
“Everyone wants a revolution. No one wants to do the dishes.” It’s easy to think we’re doing grand things for the kingdom through our direct service to the church and forget that God is just as present in our lives’ humble, everyday tasks. Every encounter connected to an average life matter will resonate with others. The effect of humble experience is often relevancy. Courage, tenacity, and grit are needed to face the regular stuff with consistency and grace, neither minimizing nor over-spiritualizing.
Is there a task, project, or plan in your current ministry queue that God is nudging you to cut for something more ordinary? When was the last time you metaphorically did your team’s or congregation’s “dishes”?
- Value experience over intellect.
“One great need today is for serious Christians to engage in original research in the life of the Spirit,” Richard Foster states in an article about “everyday experiments” with God. He points out that it is easy to look for God in places that feel like “class” (areas of purposeful devotion or discipline) but more challenging to “discern the divine word in daily ventures.” He shares short journal entries of his time learning to listen to the Spirit. The journal entries teach, inspire, and motivate while preserving memory—not of intellect but of hands-on experience.
What practices help you remember where and how you encountered God on any given day? Consider one-line journaling, practicing the Ignatian Examen nightly, or keeping a running Note of holy noticing’s.
Resources for further reading and inspiration:
Dallas Willard. (1997). The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. New York: Harper Collins.
Eugene Peterson. (2011). The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways that Jesus is the Way. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Journal Haven Press. (2020). One Line a Day Journal: A Six Year Memory Book. Harper Parks Publishing.
Keith Riley. (2023). “The Sacred Ordinary of Each Day.” Renovare.org. https://renovare.org/articles/the-sacred-ordinary-of-each-day.
Richard Foster. (1979). “An Everyday Experiment in Hearing God.” Renovare.org. https://renovare.org/articles/everyday-experiment-hearing-god.
Sarah Damaska. (2017). “How to Find God in Our Ordinary Tasks.” Seedbed.com. https://seedbed.com/how-to-find-god-in-our-ordinary-tasks/.
Timothy Tennent. (2021). “The Sacredness of Ordinary Tasks.” Seedbed.com. https://seedbed.com/the-sacredness-of-ordinary-tasks/.
Tish Harrison Warren. (2016). Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life. Downer’s Grove: IVP Books.
Tish Harrison Warren. (2021). “Struggling with Everydayness.” Renovare.org. https://renovare.org/articles/struggling-with-everydayness.
Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”
― Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Rev. Bethany Tippin serves in the Northwest District of The Wesleyan Church. She actively finds God while making sourdough bread, gardening, and taking long walks on dirt roads.
Executive Director: Johanna Rugh
Curator: Carla Working
