From Burden to Blessing
Happy New Year! I know it has been a long time since I've blogged... almost a month. After a joyful and restful Christmas Season, I am glad to be back into routine and am hoping to make weekly blogging a part of it.
With the New Year has come a new resolve for clarity, determination, and diligence in my life. I am trusting the Holy Spirit to give me the fruit of self-control which I've come to experience as "resisting the resistance" in me. Ultimately, by God's grace, I do want to do good/obey God but often there is an initial resistance that needs to be overcome. Resisting that resistance is one way to define self-control.
But that isn't actually what I want to blog about today.
Today is it all about the dishes. The dishes?! Yes, you read that right. For those who have known me a long time, you will know that "the dishes" represent a long struggle with the menial tasks of everyday life that I have found cumbersome and boring. I have viewed that as a nuisance at times to be avoided but inevitably to be attacked like some enemy that is at best inconveniencing me and at worst keeping me from the more important, more valuable things in life (such as sleep!)
While driving to Alberta this Christmas vacation, I read a short book by Kathleen Norris called "The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy, and "Women's Work"". I have owned it for years but finally got around to reading it. Through it, God has given me an new outlook on the dishes (and the daily repetitive tasks in general). I am so grateful for this as what was once a burden has now become a blessing.
"Quotidian" means daily. The book talks about many things but the section that really impacted me was the discussion around repetition. For my progress-oriented mind, the repetitive tasks of everyday life don't get me anywhere. They just get me back to base zero (hair washed, teeth cleaned, food made and eaten, dishes done, bed made) and they will have to be repeated again (and again and again). Where is the joy in that?
I was arrested by a line in the book, "It is precisely these thankless, boring, repetitive tasks that are hardest for the workaholic or utilitarian mind to appreciate..." (page 27). It got me thinking about my attitude (as describe above) and about how I have resisted doing tasks because of my attitude. I knew this was something that the Lord wants to change in me but I wasn't sure how. Yes, over the years, I had become more willing to do the dishes, knowing that God cared about my material world and not just me spiritually helped a lot. So did learning the FlyLady system back in 2007. But there was still something wrong in my attitude.... a lack of appreciation for something that is part of life everyday.
I kept reading... Norris says, "The contemplative in me recognizes the sacred potential in the mundane task, even as the terminally busy go-getter resents the necessity of repetition. But, as Soren Kierkegaard reminds us, "Repetition is reality, and it is the seriousness of life...repetition is the daily bread which satisfies with benediction.." Repetition is both as ordinary and necessary as bread, and the very stuff of ecstasy." She goes on to talk about how children love doing things over and over, like reading a favorite story. (page 28).
I can't exactly tell you what happened but when I returned home and got into routine this past week. I realized I was smiling as I was doing the dishes. "Ahh," I thought, "in this busy, every changing world, here at the sink is a time to re-center. To do something that I will probably do most days of my life well into my old age." Somehow, the repetitiveness became appealing. Not boring. It tied me to my life - past, present, and future - and grounded me in God's care for me day by day. "Give us this day our daily bread" we often pray. "Today, Lord, I need You and Your provision" is what I am saying. And while I stood there doing the dishes one evening, I felt a reassurance. God gives me bread for today, He gives me tasks for today. And even though I will need bread again tomorrow (and will have to do these same dishes tomorrow), I can trust Him with right now. I can bring order back to the chaos of my kitchen as an act of worship and a statement of hope that one day He will bring His order to all of creation. I can be grateful that I have this moment, this today, because of His gracious care of me.
Now I am thinking differently about doing the dishes. They are an opportunity to stop and reflect, to thank God for His blessings, and to just be alive in the moment..... living in God's love that is available to me right now and will be forever.
Psalm 136: 1-3
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
With the New Year has come a new resolve for clarity, determination, and diligence in my life. I am trusting the Holy Spirit to give me the fruit of self-control which I've come to experience as "resisting the resistance" in me. Ultimately, by God's grace, I do want to do good/obey God but often there is an initial resistance that needs to be overcome. Resisting that resistance is one way to define self-control.
But that isn't actually what I want to blog about today.
Today is it all about the dishes. The dishes?! Yes, you read that right. For those who have known me a long time, you will know that "the dishes" represent a long struggle with the menial tasks of everyday life that I have found cumbersome and boring. I have viewed that as a nuisance at times to be avoided but inevitably to be attacked like some enemy that is at best inconveniencing me and at worst keeping me from the more important, more valuable things in life (such as sleep!)
While driving to Alberta this Christmas vacation, I read a short book by Kathleen Norris called "The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy, and "Women's Work"". I have owned it for years but finally got around to reading it. Through it, God has given me an new outlook on the dishes (and the daily repetitive tasks in general). I am so grateful for this as what was once a burden has now become a blessing.
"Quotidian" means daily. The book talks about many things but the section that really impacted me was the discussion around repetition. For my progress-oriented mind, the repetitive tasks of everyday life don't get me anywhere. They just get me back to base zero (hair washed, teeth cleaned, food made and eaten, dishes done, bed made) and they will have to be repeated again (and again and again). Where is the joy in that?
I was arrested by a line in the book, "It is precisely these thankless, boring, repetitive tasks that are hardest for the workaholic or utilitarian mind to appreciate..." (page 27). It got me thinking about my attitude (as describe above) and about how I have resisted doing tasks because of my attitude. I knew this was something that the Lord wants to change in me but I wasn't sure how. Yes, over the years, I had become more willing to do the dishes, knowing that God cared about my material world and not just me spiritually helped a lot. So did learning the FlyLady system back in 2007. But there was still something wrong in my attitude.... a lack of appreciation for something that is part of life everyday.
I kept reading... Norris says, "The contemplative in me recognizes the sacred potential in the mundane task, even as the terminally busy go-getter resents the necessity of repetition. But, as Soren Kierkegaard reminds us, "Repetition is reality, and it is the seriousness of life...repetition is the daily bread which satisfies with benediction.." Repetition is both as ordinary and necessary as bread, and the very stuff of ecstasy." She goes on to talk about how children love doing things over and over, like reading a favorite story. (page 28).
I can't exactly tell you what happened but when I returned home and got into routine this past week. I realized I was smiling as I was doing the dishes. "Ahh," I thought, "in this busy, every changing world, here at the sink is a time to re-center. To do something that I will probably do most days of my life well into my old age." Somehow, the repetitiveness became appealing. Not boring. It tied me to my life - past, present, and future - and grounded me in God's care for me day by day. "Give us this day our daily bread" we often pray. "Today, Lord, I need You and Your provision" is what I am saying. And while I stood there doing the dishes one evening, I felt a reassurance. God gives me bread for today, He gives me tasks for today. And even though I will need bread again tomorrow (and will have to do these same dishes tomorrow), I can trust Him with right now. I can bring order back to the chaos of my kitchen as an act of worship and a statement of hope that one day He will bring His order to all of creation. I can be grateful that I have this moment, this today, because of His gracious care of me.
Now I am thinking differently about doing the dishes. They are an opportunity to stop and reflect, to thank God for His blessings, and to just be alive in the moment..... living in God's love that is available to me right now and will be forever.
Psalm 136: 1-3
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
Hi! I pray this message finds you well. Your sister introduced me to your blog today as she thought I may benefit from your words of wisdom... and as usual, she was right! LOL I love this piece on the dishes, as I too struggle with those menial "quotidian" tasks, especially dishes. What stuck out for me was how you said that the Lord cares about our material world as well as our spiritual. To me that says that I not only need to see and accept God in all things spiritual, but also in every aspect of life, including the smallest of things like doing dishes. We are so blessed to have recently moved into a bigger home that will be our very own... no more renting. Anyhow, I was so overwhelmed during the entire move (my church family helped with packing, cleaning and moving), I was fortunate enough to be able to take a few moments to just stand back and see the Lord's amazing hand in all aspects of this enormous job! It's during these life moments that it's overwhelming to me to truly see the vast measure of God's grace and love! Thank you for this blog post and opening my mind to something new! I really look forward to reading more!
ReplyDeleteHi Kyla,
DeleteWelcome! And thanks for your comment. I pray that your new home will be a place of blessing - including all the house work that will need to be done!
in Christ,
Tracy