How to Recover Your Life in Your Hidden Daily Grind
Laura Longville
Ever had one of those days when you felt like no one cares? Like everything you did that day went unnoticed and didn’t seem to make a difference to anyone. You pretty much felt invisible.
I confess. Sometimes, I wish I were recognized for my hard work. For instance, the housework , cooking, cleaning, laundry is never ending. It’s time consuming, unappreciated and usually unnoticed. AND I do it over and over and over again.
Other days, I wish I could share the profound healing I am witness to in the counseling room, behind closed doors. As a counselor I am privileged to enter into deep pain, ugly anger and awesome victories. I wish I could share it with more people.
I know I’m not alone as friends and family share their struggle with this too.
Do you seem to do the same thing over and over again without much satisfaction, let alone passion?
Our dailiness can feel empty and futile. The daily grind can be hidden and lonely, filled with feelings of sadness and fear.
The mundaneness and anonymity we live in can be painful when we focus on the wrong thing.
Stephen Smith hits the nail on the head, “Anonymity is not a bad circumstance. Obscurity is not something we should run from. Isolation is not a disease. These three realities are tools of truth that God uses to shape the souls of every one of His sons and daughters.”
Galatians 5:22-23 in The Message entices me to keep my eyes on the Holy Spirit. God’s promises are life giving.
Galatians 5:22-23 But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
These traits or fruits are not developed overnight. They are cultivated by doing repeated everyday jobs. God is shaping us in our hiddenness.
God Is Shaping Us In Our Hiddenness
There are many examples in the Bible of people who lived mundane and obscure lives. Joseph lived in a prison forsaken by his brothers and wrongly accused by Potiphar’s wife.
Moses lived a privileged life until he ran away hoping to never be found because he had murdered someone. He became a shepherd, alone and isolated from his people.
Yet, God used these men to teach us so much. Joseph told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of may lives”. Genesis 50:20 NIV
It was in a secluded place, on a mountain in the middle of nowhere, that Moses encountered God in a burning bush.
If you are in a season of life where you are unnoticed or unappreciated like Joseph or isolated like Moses; Jesus sees you. He longs to be the center of your dailiness.
Jesus lived a hidden life for 30 years. We don’t know too much about what Jesus did on a daily basis prior to the start of his ministry on earth. What we do know is he worked with his hands as a carpenter and was a student and a teacher of God’s way.
The last 3 years of Jesus life was documented for all to see. Most of the previous 30 years were not recorded. For some reason God did not feel it necessary to provide us with the intimate details for most of Jesus life.
God developed Joseph, Moses and Jesus into the powerful men they were through the daily grind and obscure lives.
In one of my pity party days, where I felt lost in life, caught in the daily grind, God showed me a couple things about how to feel valued and cherished that I would like to share with you:
1. In your day-to-day grind or to do list, pray.
- Pray over your marriage bed as you make it. Lord, may our room and bed glorify you. Put your hand of protection over this sacred space.
- Pray over your children’s laundry as you fold each piece. Holy Spirit, make yourself known to “Sally”. May you become real in her life.
- As you respond to the umpteenth email, pray over the email and the person your sending it to. Jesus, make this message clear and concise. May it bless the receiver.
As I practice this, I feel joy. Like I’m doing something with God, something meaningful. My mundane life becomes valuable. My isolation becomes connection. I feel whole and complete.
2. Watch for me (God) in your routine.
Sometimes my daily routines become monotonous and mindless. I’ve completed the tasks without much energy or purpose.
If I’m numb and unaware, how will I notice what God is up to? The reality is, God is up to something all the time; I’m just not listening or watching for it.
Here are some helpful ideas to notice where God is at work:
- Keep a watchful eye for what Jesus is up to in your daily life.
- Be expectant that you will find Him.
- Make a small change in your routine. Do your chores backwards. Fast. Read a different version of the Bible. Go a different way to work.
As I practice these suggestions of Gods and continue reading The Jesus Life, I feel refreshed, rejuvenated and hopeful. Hopeful, that my life of obscurity does have meaning and purpose. I feel fully alive.
I am confident that as you practice these ideas or as God inspires you, you will recover your life and find your way in your mundane world.
May you find Him now.
To read more about how to live like Jesus did, click on these links to previous posts.
