Transforming the Mundane

We were visiting with good friends last night and talking about some of the never ending tasks of keeping a house and managing family life. It reminded me of my struggle to transition to being at home with the children.

I was excited to become a Mom. We had been married 5 years and were settled. Craig was established in his career, and I was finishing up a degree. Even if we didn't feel totally ready, we were in a pretty good spot.

I was put on bed rest over Christmas and then was hospitalized over New Years, Sydney arrived early in January. She was a small little thing. Only 6 lbs when we brought her home. She felt like she was slipping through our fingers.

It didn't take long for the reality of parenthood to set in. I loved our girl, so much that I thought my heart would burst. But I am a finisher. I like to wrap up a task and mark it done. Often at the end of a day it seemed all I had accomplished was a fresh load of diapers done, maybe not even folded yet.

It didn't take long for never ending laundry, food prep and cleaning to discourage me. I had this poignant moment of despair. I remember getting under the table to wipe the floor clean for the third time that day thinking "There has to be more!"

It isn't that I didn't love raising my family, I was home full time with them for 10 years. I just needed more. I loved ditching the housework to play and have fun with the kids but let's be honest, housework has to be finished sometime. A lot of our lives are lived working at the mundane, repetitive tasks. It was then I stumbled across the Practise the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. It was a book I had purchased during my years at Bible School when taking my Bachelors of Christian Ministry.

Brother Lawrence was a member of the Carmelite monastery in Paris. He entered as a lay brother, not having the education necessary to become a cleric. He spent his life working in the kitchen and as a repairer of sandals in his later years. His life was full of the repetitive mundane. As I read the book of letters compiled from his life again,  it transformed my days in a new ways.

I learned from this wise man who lived a simple life how to experience God in the midst of tasks that, while necessary, were mind numbing. 

I would use Sydney's first nap as a chance to have a cup of tea and read the Bible. Then as I worked at the dishes or housecleaning, I would meditate on a verse or thought that had been significant for me that day. Or I would pray and listen to God as I folded laundry. I slowly learned to use those mundane tasks to enjoy God's company, becoming mindful of him during my labor. 

I began to look forward to tasks that earlier had left me dying for intellectual stimulation.  Folding a basket of laundry no longer filled me with frustration at the cyclical rhythm of life. These tasks that previously left me desperate for the hope of something significant became extremely significant.  Not only were the tasks transformed but so was I. It took time, but it happened. 

I believe that the tasks that are necessary but seem so droll are an opportunity. Moments we want to fill with some other distraction are an invitation to experience God. I am so glad God led me to the example of Brother Lawrence in that stage of life. Getting under the table for the 3rd time in a day no longer filled me with a sense of hopelessness. 

I look back on that stage of life with a feeling of longing sometimes. I have not yet experienced another stage in life where I was free to experience him more. It was precious and fleeting. I sometimes wish to experience God's presence in my days to that extent again. 

I sometimes forget that folding a basket of laundry is an invitation to more. God can transform the common tasks of life into a meaningful, life-changing, moments.