Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!  (Psalm 57:7)

 

stead·fast

(adjective)

resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering.

“steadfast loyalty” (Oxford Language Dictionary)

 

I was intrigued this week by the sense of “settling in” that we have in our Bethel Community.  We all are moving beyond the scramble and heightened anxiety of the Covid pandemic and are settling into life in a new way.  Some of us are traveling.  Some of us are downsizing and moving into town.  Some of us are visiting with family and friends that we haven’t seen in over three years.  Attendance at all of the activities at Bethel is waning as we settle into Spring and the lazy days of the church summer.  It’s a gentler time in our church, isn’t it.  A time where it seems easier just to kick back and enjoy life and do the things that we haven’t had the headspace to conquer for quite some time. 

 

I’m impressed by the forward momentum that some of you have right now.  Especially those of you who are downsizing and moving.  On the scale of stressful events, moving homes is way up at the top, but those of you who are moving just seem to be rising above it all.  And those of you who are decluttering and downsizing, but staying in your homes, you all are impressive too.  I think someone at UCW called it ‘death cleaning’.  That’s a bit morbid but is actually an interesting way to frame things.  I know that when I’ve helped people downsize or helped to clean out someone’s home after they’ve passed away, I’ve been really surprised at the amount of really useless things that people hold onto. 

 

I’m neither downsizing or death cleaning these days (although now that I’m over my pneumonia I might tackle the death cleaning thing).    In fact, my life has settled into a routine of just regular ol’ home and church.  I do go to the occasional concert but I’m still a little wary of being in large gatherings so those are few and far between.  In fact, I think I have settled into a place where really, I lead a very boring life.  I have no big plans except when to get groceries for the week.  I seem to spend a lot of my spare time sweeping the kitchen floor and complaining that I’m sweeping the kitchen floor.  When I call or text my parents, they all ask “what’s new in your life?”, like somehow I have this whole secret world of wonder that I’m living away from them.  I don’t.  My life is mostly just

Boring.

Mundane.

Ordinary.

 

And the problem with life being boring, mundane and ordinary is that it feels boring, mundane, and ordinary.  I’m not very ‘boring tolerant’.  I like my life to have interesting twists and turns.  I like tackling ‘problems’ and creating ‘plans of action’, and a life that is just ordinary?  Well, lets just say, its not my cup of tea. 

 

But I think that this, for me is the place where I need to be steadfast.  I’m pretty good when the world is chaos and I need to figure out a plan through and look for God’s light shining in the darkness.  I’m not so good at seeing God’s light just shining on an ordinary kitchen as a sweep the floor for the 490^th time that week. 

 

So this morning, as I was pondering the idea of being steadfast, I deliberately took the time to look for God in my ordinary, and my boring.  And here’s what I found – just looking for God in those regular times, well – it meant that I could see God and I could ‘sing praises’ as the psalmist says. 

 

Sing praises in my now clean (maybe only 5 minutes worth) kitchen floor.  Sing praises in the artful game of “dishpan jenga” that I played this morning with the breakfast dishes.  Sing praises in the beautiful multi-colored farm fresh eggs that I got from my friend Becky yesterday.  Sing praises because even in the ordinary, the boring and the mundane, God is present and together we are moving forward.

 

So, my dear Bethel friends, as you settle in, join me in noticing God in the ordinary.  And join me in our steadfast pursuit of this place, recognizing that even if this is the 491^st time you’ve swept the kitchen floor, this is a place where God is.

 

Blessings today, and remember you are Loved.  (I’ve gotta run and sweep the kitchen floor)

~Rev. Lynne