I could fairly accurately say that I’ve emptied the dishwasher 109 times, made at least 372 meals, and gone on about 56 walks.
How are we all doing?
If I could speak truthfully, from my “bubble” to your “bubble”, it’s been a beautiful gift of time and space to nestle down with the people I love. It’s also been really, really disorienting and confusing. Everything has changed, and nothing has changed. There is a global pandemic going on, but dishes still need to be washed and dinner must be made. We’ve figured out a daily rhythm that works for our family and at this stage it feels that things are becoming “lockdown normal”. Even with the very realness of trauma outside of our little nest, I’m still in my bubble, and, to be honest, it’s almost “ordinary” over here even in its extraordinary reality.
In this time of COVID-19, I’ve begun to ask the question, “If our lives are so full of everyday tasks, what would it look like to participate with God in them?” Or, put another way, “How might I draw my attention to God’s ongoing work in the everyday moments of my life?”
Recently I finished a brilliant book by Tish Harrison Warren called Liturgy of the Ordinary. She is an Anglican priest and mother of two who suggests that the ordinary things we do every day offer an invitation to participate in God’s abiding presence. There is a holy beauty all around, even in the mess of our lives (perhaps, especially in the mess), and we need to pay attention.
Warren talks about “tiny theophanies” where God makes God’s-self known in the everyday moments, like brushing your teeth, or making up the bed, or even fighting with your spouse.
She suggests that everyday tasks are not distractions in the way of seeing God to be hurried up and gotten over, but are conduits to it. They are the very “stuff” that allows us to practice participating in the life of God.