An Ordinary Life

When I began writing this blog some 18 years ago, I named it Ordinary Moments with the idea to just write about my life — and maybe somehow find God in the day to day. I even included a favorite Scripture which has remained on the page: “Teach me to number my days that I might gain a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:12).

Whereas I’m not sure how much I have progressed in the wisdom realm, I do know my days have remained consistently “ordinary” and that, one by one, they are adding up. Over these last almost two decades now, I have not travelled to any distant or exotic regions. I have not made any astounding findings or become an “influencer” on the web. I have not written books or played before thousands. 

What I have done, however, is get up early each day, put one foot in front of the other, and go about the blessed life God has given me. And I imagine that many reading this now can relate in one’s own fashion. 

In 1933, St. Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975), a Spanish priest and founder of Opus Dei, wrote a 999 point book entitled The Way for the purpose of helping both him and his community to yearn for and to see ‘Christ, the Light of the World.’ In an original copy given to a young architect named Ricardo Fernández Vallespin, Escrivá wrote this dedication:

“May you seek Christ. May you find Christ. May you love Christ.” 

Some 31 years later, in 1967, Escrivá gave a homily which summed up that message:

“Everyday life is the true setting for your lives as Christians. Your daily encounter with Christ takes place where your fellow men, your yearnings, your work, and your affections are. … God is calling you to serve Him in and from the ordinary, secular, and civil activities of human life. He waits for us everyday, in the laboratory, in the operating theatre, in the army barracks, in the university chair, in the factory, in the worship, in the fields, in the home, and in all the immense panorama of work. Understand this well: there is something holy, something divine hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each one of you to discover it. … There is no other way, my daughters and sons: either we learn to find our Lord in ordinary, everyday life, or we shall never find Him.”

When I read that passage in the Introduction to St. Josemaría’s book, I underlined it, bracketed it, put a huge exclamation mark in the left margin AND wrote a big YES! when I came to the final period. After going back to it again and again, I finally made a copy of it and pasted it in my journal so it could be easily attained and constantly remembered.

So what is your “ordinary” — the place where you seek Christ, find Christ, love Christ? My “ordinary” is in my home, at the grocery store, the plant shop, the bank, and the nursing home, to name a few. (Just yesterday I found Him in the wide eye delight of a nursing home resident eating homemade banana pudding.)

So here’s my exhortation: why not search for Christ today .. right where you are; in that ordinary life of yours. You might not only find Him but I bet you’d also grow in love for Him. That’s what St. Josemaría says. And when you do, you just might find that your ordinary life suddenly appears extraordinary. 

Just an ordinary moment…