Ordinary is Enough

I was busy in the kitchen when I suddenly stopped in my tracks and took in the view outside…the trees, the mountains, the happy children playing. My ears tuned into the birds chirping, the soft whisper of the wind, and the giggling of the kids. In the background, the familiar whine of a table saw carried through the air as my husband tirelessly labors away on another house project.

Suddenly, the chaos and busyness of life, and the task I was working on, vanished from my focus, and the beauty around me took its place.

It’s such an ordinary day. I’m in the kitchen making yogurt, my husband is plugging away at re-siding the house, and the kids are playing outside. But I love the ordinary.

I think it may be the secret to a happy life: the ability to see beauty in the plain, to feel gratitude for an ordinary day at home, to truly stop and smell the roses, as they say.

I don’t need an extraordinary life. I need an ordinary life but eyes that admire it and a heart that appreciates it.

Did I stop and carefully place this photo of my rainbow eggs, spring flowers, and ceramic chicken by the kitchen sink? Yes.
Did it bring me tremendous joy? Also, yes.

I stood there admiring the perfect pastel colors of my hens’ eggs and wondered how God created something so beautiful and nutritious. I leaned down and took a deep breath of sweet hyacinth and marveled at the intricate collection of tiny petals in every shade of purple.

In that moment, I was reminded why we chose this life…for the peace and the ability to notice these simple joys.

But if I’m being completely truthful, the ability to live a simple and peaceful life has been more of an inside journey than the result of the external practical changes we’ve made.

Why?

Because life is busier than ever.

The weight of the work and responsibilities can feel enormous…homeschooling, building a business, renovating a home, maintaining a professional career, growing food, cooking from scratch, kids’ activities, and of course the everyday things like laundry (endless) and daily chores.

Sometimes I think, who in their right mind would take on so much in pursuit of a simple life?

It feels contradictory.

But it has taught us something important: to intentionally carve out moments of awe.

The ordinary beauty of tending a home.
Reading to children.
Picking flowers.
Collecting warm eggs.

It’s absolutely divine.

I don’t think the outside world will ever completely give us the simple life we desire. There will always be to-dos and stressors waiting for us.

The real work happens inside.

It’s an inside job to notice the beauty in the ordinary…to see the small gifts scattered all around us every single day.

There is always beauty.
There is always light.

If we develop the eyes and heart to see it.

What can you notice around you that fills you with awe?

By intentionally taking moments to notice…to see, smell, and hear how divine life is…the ordinary becomes extraordinary.

This is where the simple life is found.