I came across this familiar phrase in my reading the other day…..out of the ordinary. My mind immediately went to the typical meanings like “exceptional, extraordinary and remarkable”. For some reason I found myself sitting with the phrase for a while. Then I thought about taking the phrase literally. In other words, reaping some bigger thought, idea or revelation from an ordinary, everyday, routine moment.

Isn’t this the way Christ lived? Isn’t this the example for us? So much of his ministry begins with ordinary moments. Things happened while he was on his way to do something else (Matthew 9:18-22). He taught from the ordinary. He told parables about farming and weddings and things being lost, teaching through the things of everyday life. He asked his disciples to consider the flowers of the field or the shepherd with his sheep and in those things he showed them the divine.

“Can I do the same? Can I find the divine in the everyday? Can I seek God in the ordinary?”

So I am asking myself, “Can I do the same? Can I find the divine in the everyday? Can I seek God in the ordinary?” If I believe God is always speaking to me I must make sure I have an ear to his voice. I want to see Christ in my commute to work, as I wash the dishes, and as I chat with coworkers.

I am challenged by the words of Christian missionary Frank Laubach when he said, “Can I bring God back in my mind-flow every few seconds so that God shall always be in my mind. . . .? I choose to make the rest of my life an experiment in answering this question.”  It is a tall order, but I am finding I can see Christ in everything if I pray that I may see the ordinary through his eyes.