“What’s new?”
It’s a question I hear all the time amongst friends. When asked of me, I seldom seem to have a good response. What is new? I don’t want to answer with “Well, yesterday I got all the laundry washed, dried, folded, and put away.” Because that seems a bit . . . well . . . boring. Although when that does happen, I’m usually pretty excited. Still, it’s not like getting the laundry done is really making a huge difference in the world. Let’s face it, most of us aren’t moving mountains or coming up with a cure for cancer on a daily basis. But what if we start to look for the “extra” in our ordinary?
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to have breakfast with a young woman I met this summer. She has two kids and lost her husband at the age of 25. I think she’s pretty remarkable, and having time to sit and talk with her was a sweet part of my day—a little extra in my otherwise ordinary day.
My friend had to leave breakfast for a meeting, but since I was in no hurry I stopped to meet some women at another table. While my friend and I were eating, we had heard them at the table on the other side of the wall very quietly singing the doxology. I figured they must be some sort of Bible study group, so before I left the restaurant I went over to talk to them. (I do this kind of thing pretty regularly, which used to drive my kids nuts. They’ve gotten used to it now. Plus, they don’t live with me anymore so they don’t have to be mortified with my behavior quite as often these days.)
Some of the women from the doxology-singing group had already left, so I just talked to the four women still at the table. We talked for quite a while and had a great conversation. They were delightful women. I learned about what they’d been studying and what they planned on studying next. When I walked away, I knew our meeting had been orchestrated by God—another little extra in my ordinary day.
And that’s how the weeks go. Conversations with strangers, noticing God’s creativeness as I observe his world on my morning walk, reading a good book, watching the sun set, spending time with my friends; there are so many ways God adds little extras into my days.
It maybe doesn’t seem as exciting as traveling to a foreign country, writing the next great novel, or meeting dignitaries, but it’s what I do. It’s what most of us do. Every day, if we’re paying attention, God shows up in some pretty remarkable ways, adding a little extra to our ordinary. And it matters. Maybe the conversation I had with my friend or that Bible study group won’t change the world, but it changed my world on that day and hopefully blessed the others involved too.
So what’s new? My extraordinary life.
What’s new with you? What are the extras in your ordinary?
Nancy loves to laugh and considers laughter a critical part of human survival. If you were to ask, most days she would say her glass is half full but when it starts reaching the half-empty level, she reaches for a funny book or movie knowing that indeed “A cheerful heart is good medicine.” Nancy has three married sons and five grandchildren. To read more from Nancy find her at www.nancyholte.com.
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