Moments

Ed Noble taught about embracing every day, mundane moments in life this past weekend. My husband has often quoted someone by saying, "the mundane is what makes us great" although I'm not sure who it is he is quoting. My head knows I need to grasp this so I don't waste my life away but understanding and appreciating this and living it out are two very different things. Maybe I should be thankful I'm a stay at home mom because something tells me I have more opportunities to practise this than say a rocket scientist.

The other morning I felt it. Rod and Rhett were still sleeping and Emmie had awoken me crying for "my joo, my joo." I stumbled to the fridge at the ungodly summer hour of 7 am and made her majesty a sippy cup full of apple cranberry juice with a splash of water. As she drank her juice I, only being half awake started to do an inventory of our breakfast foods knowing that her second demand after joo was soon to follow. I hesitantly grabbed a box of dry cereal out of the cupboard thinking this was not going to satisfy her but handed it to her anyways. I didn't put her in a highchair, I didn't even put the cereal in a bowl I just handed her the box. She looked at me with a smile as if to say thank you and took the box and walked off completely gratified by my breakfast selection for her. All of a sudden out of nowhere I felt joy. Why would I suddenly be cheerful and happy about my 15 month old daughter walking off with a box of cereal? It didn't last long, afterall I was very tired and I was soon to embark on our morning cranky routine. But for just a moment I experienced pure, inexplicable joy in doing the mundane.

There will be times I suppose when I'll experience joy due to a planned event. I felt joy on my wedding day. I felt joy when my children were born. I felt joy today celebrating my moms birthday. One of the reasons I love going to church each week is because the mornings are often rough getting there but once I'm there my anxiousness is often replaced with joy. These moments are great but not often enough. I love the way the message version translates the fruit of the spirit. Instead of using the word "joy" it writes "exuberance about life." If joy is going to penetrate my whole life than I'm going to have to find it in the mundane every day moments. Just like anything else if I look for it I'm sure to find it. Afterall I have endless moments to choose from including this one. The subtitle of John Ortberg's book, God is Closer Than You Think says, "this can be the greatest moment of your life because this moment is the place where you can meet God." Imagine every moment being your best moment because you're in the presence of God. What a way to live. Thank you Father for this moment.