Finding the Divine in the Mundane
Fiona Keller • June 18, 2020
Quieting the Chaos and Embracing the Mess
Hello there! It's just lovely to see you. You know what, the sun's come out and there's a glorious warmth, let's take a seat in the garden. Let's snatch a few minutes of fresh air, a quick breather between the tasks of the day, a mental break from the humdrum. Ah rest. I don't think I realised how tired my body was until I let it stop for a moment. Until stillness just started to flood my being from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. I can feel my eyes start to shut as the sun shines on my face. My shoulders relax and my legs stretch out as I wiggle my toes and my body silently sighs, 'rest.' This is my momentary thinking space. A place to let my mind wander, to process, to stop trying.
Family life. It's simultaneously life-giving, enriching, energizing and completely and utterly draining, exhausting, stretching. It's both ever-changing and desperately routine. It's a happy place, a security and it's a place of worry and work. It's a place where I can be myself, with all my flaws and a place where I desperately want to be the best version of me that can be.
It's funny though, how the mundane, the chaos and the mess are often the things that I find myself focusing on. I am a self-confessed neat freak, my home, however, is anything but neat. Cue small posse running and screaming, with a dog in hot pursuit. I struggle to find joy in the smudges and tossed aside clothing. In the sprawl of toys and piles of dishes. The mess of family life, both literal and emotional is a never ending distraction. I can relate far more to the Martha of the Bible, than to the Mary at Jesus' feet (Luke 10:38-42.) I find the chaos of small humans running around draws my attention to the things going on around me…. And not in a particularly good way. It doesn't often conjure gratitude. I'm sure it should, but it doesn't. It does however, keep my mind ever spinning, and my body moving.
It's the perfect ploy really, when I think about it. The perfect way to bring disillusionment and discontent. To keep a mother's mind focused on the humdrum, on the challenges, on the frantic, on the exhaustion, on the self-sacrifice and to allow a certain sense of wallowing in self-pity, frustration and angst to grow, to settle within her soul. Oh my heart, there has to be a better way. There just has to. God didn't design motherhood to be all give and no refill. I know my God and He is just so much better than that. Do you feel this too? Well my friend, here I am convinced that there is goodness to be found in the routine, there is the divine to be found in the mundane, there can be quiet even with chaos all around and there can be a letting go, dare I venture to say, even an embracing of the mess and there…. There I can find joy, peace, hope and rest. There I can find relationship. There I find unending support and strength.
When Martha complained to Jesus about her need for help and Jesus pointed to her that Mary's choice to sit at his feet and commune with him was the better choice….I feel her pain, maybe she was embarrassed too or frustrated at the chastisement-albeit loving. Could it have been anything other than loving coming from our Lord to his friend? But I bet she did think about it. It makes me think too. I wonder if she went back to the food prep muttering about how someone has to do the work if they want to eat? I wonder if she set her towel down and loitered at the back of the room listening? I wonder if she sat down next to Mary and threw caution to the wind?
With all the hustle and bustle around, Mary found quiet in the chaos. She embraced the mess (though I’m not sure there was a mess in the way I find mess -toys, papers, clothes, food remnants. Really, how long has that sweet been stuck to the floor? But I bet there were pots out and cooking utensils and ingredients and dirty dishes and maybe Martha had just laid out the wash to dry, maybe there were the neighbor's children scurrying underfoot. I don't know. The Bible doesn't tell us. But I imagine that these were normal people doing normal tasks and the more I've gotten to know 'normal' people, the more I've realised that most people have mess. It's just the way it is.) So Mary embraces the mess, she accepts it for what it is, she decides to leave it, to find contentment with it there because even with the mess, Jesus was still there. He was there and He was available. She knew the work would get done, that the mess would be taken care of at some point. But it didn't matter when, because there was peace and learning and relationship that could happen at that moment. Even with the chaos and the inevitable noise of a house full of people, she tuned it out and found quiet at the feet of her Savior. The noises, the bustle, just dissipated into the background. Her attention was on one person only, on what He had to say.
I guess what I take from this is that Jesus shows up in the ordinary. He is perfectly present in the mundane. In the cooking of meals He is available. In the washing dishes, He's happy to talk. He doesn't come into my home and pass judgement on the mayhem. He comes to see me. He comes to bless my children, to watch them play and laugh at their stories. He comes to my table, to teach us to pray and to remind us of our privilege. He'll grab a seat and wait while I switch over the washing and then He'll gently put His hand on my arm and invite me to sit. To pour us some coffee and to take a seat on the couch and to have a real heart to heart. He sees how busy I am and He knows how torn I feel when I sit down with Him and the list of 'to dos' is swirling in my head. He knows I value the time with Him but He knows I wrestle with feeling I need to meet the physical needs of my family. He knows I struggle when my head says ‘do the work’ and my heart says ‘you'll do better when you've spent time with Him.’ He reminds me it can all wait. So, we sit a while longer, finding quiet in the chaos and honestly maybe just trying to ignore the mess, if not fully embrace it. And then we get up and He says let me take that cup and we head to the kitchen. The divine in the mundane. Walking beside me. Always ready to talk but also just ready to be. To be silent with me, as I think. To wrap His arms around my crying child, while I patch up the wounds. To whisper encouragement to me as I hang my head exhausted. To remind me the smudges will fade and the shoes will get bigger. That this 'mess' is only for a time. To hold my hand when I weep at my failings and to tell me it's not just my job alone. That He's working alongside me and that He's bridging the gaps. He points out my blessings, the riches I have. The favors poured upon me, that I had been too busy to notice. Too concerned with the order and fixing the chaos, instead of finding Him here. Oh friend, He is here. He's perfectly present. And if the divine is here in the mundane with me, in the mess and the chaos, the noise and the banter, then I can choose to be Mary. I can find Him in all of these things, because He is waiting to be found.
Father, I thank You for these man-made shells, which become our homes as they fill with noise and laughter, silence and tears, memories and hopes. I thank You for their protection, for the safety found within. I thank You for the life that grows surrounded by these walls; a place we make our own. Amen
When complaints often come easier than thanksgiving - I thank you Father for these dishes, which signify food and drink aplenty. I thank You for each mouth that partook of meals together. Amen
Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. Jude 1:2 Most gracious and loving Heavenly Father, I thank You for You have sustained me through this school year. I thank You for Your provision of strength and energy even on the hardest of days. I thank You for walking with me on the mountain tops: the moments of joy, the times of bonding and fellowship, the times when the learning and the teaching came easily. I thank You for journeying with me through the valleys. On the days I wanted to give up. During times of frustration and grumblings. On the days when learning was hard and teaching even harder. I thank You that I never left the shadow of Your wings and that You have seen me, valued me and noticed me as I have sought to lead and serve my family in this way. Lord, we are nearing the end of this season and oftentimes feel the increasing need for rest, for reprieve and refueling. Some days Lord, it feels like summer will never come. And yet some days time flies and I become aware again of the limited time I have with these dear ones whom I am not only tasked with teaching, but also with parenting and loving. Father, it is my desire to finish well. That we will not succumb to wishing away the time together, nor give in to half-hearted efforts put forth. Help us to find balance between being present in the here and now and thinking ahead to plans for the summer and next school year May You continue to be the source of my daily strength and joy. Remind me of my calling to teach during this season and equip me each day to face challenges with grace, love, humor and humility. Renew my spirit and uplift me as I seek to lead these children towards You, keeping my mind focused and my heart seeking You above all else. In Jesus' name Amen