The Sacrament of the Ordinary
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Life takes on another form entirely with time and space to soak in it's daily glittering miracles.
Since my station in Corporateland ended eight weeks ago, life returned to long trail runs, quiet mornings with books and soul laid open, reading without fighting sleep, and working from a place of rest. This is the sacrament of the ordinary, it's those little moments that string themselves together to form our lives, so precious and common we often miss the grace conferred.
Waking up rested.
Time to run before the work day begins.
Reading before bed.
The opportunity to "ruthlessly eliminate hurry," as the late Dallas Willard said, are all gifts from Our God.
It's a bitter fight to move slow enough to practice God's presence, inviting him into each moment. God asks us for complete engagement and too many times I've thought it too high a price to pay for a momentary communion with the maker of heaven and earth. Like water and oil, the holy and the hustle don't mix. And yet, we live at this breakneck pace and I've spent the last several years trying to reconcile the two.
While the answer still alludes me, I know that each day we can choose to practice the sacrament of the ordinary and take in each days gracious gifts.
The sacrament of the ordinary is waking up early on Friday to be there when the pink roses come in off the truck at Whole Foods, grind fresh coffee for the weekend, and watch it all take on new meaning without a phone to my ear.
The sacrament of the ordinary is flipping through glossy September issues full of aspirational elegance with a piping hot pumpkin blonde, savoring these sweet moments as summer turns to fall.
The sacrament of the ordinary is padding around my house in my polka-dot Mr. Rogers sweater during the work day with Sunday padding right behind.
The sacrament of the ordinary is falling in love with our ordinary lives. Ronald Dahl said, "And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.”
Is there a more unlikely place than in the midst of our everyday routines?
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
{Lao Tzu}
Let's watch for every hue of the color change this fall.
Let's watch as the leaves fall slowly off the trees to give us that golden crackle of fall. Let's live our lives as a slow exhale, so we can breathe in the daily glittering miracles.
Love,
Lisamarie
P.S. I got sick last week and the Halloween Home Tour is a week behind schedule. You'll have a Glamoween Home Tour up in time for the weekend!
This was such a lovely post. It filled my heart. The sacrament of the ordinary is about living in the present and not rushing to the future.
www.lifeinmascara.com
Posted by: Mayra Murillo | Thursday, May 28, 2015 at 01:53 PM
When clarity finally hits...
http://www.lifeinmascara.com/2015/08/a-runners-prayer.html
Posted by: Mayra Murillo | Monday, August 31, 2015 at 01:55 PM