One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Posted by Lori | 0 comments

Mundane tasks….

Just the word “mundane” conjures up images for me.

I wondered what EXACTLY was the definition of mundane….and I was intrigued.
The first entry at Your Dictionary.com was surprising~

~of the world; esp., worldly, as distinguished from heavenly, spiritual, etc. ~commonplace, everyday, ordinary, etc.

I had expected to see “commonplace, ordinary” at the FIRST entry, but no, instead mundane was something NOT HEAVENLY or SPIRITUAL….

hmmmmm….that got me thinking, are the things I consider mundane in any way spiritual, could I somehow change how I view these “typically labeled mundane” tasks?
Let’s DEFINE mundane

If we were in my living room having this study, and I asked you all to SHOUT out the MOST “mundane” tasks…here’s what I imagine would make the TOP 5! (mine at least!)

5. Laundry (and PILES of it) from gathering it up, sorting, transferring from washer to dryer, to the fold and put away…

4. Picking ___________ off the floor! (depending on the ages of your children, that ranges from crumbs of Zweiback toast, to legos to Play-Doh bits, to earring backs and sneakers that don’t make it past the door.)

3. Chauffeuring around town. I need not elaborate on this, it’s enough to say that I am confident that I COULD if I tried, get to dance, and tae kwon do with my eyes closed…(I have NOT attempted this, but I’m nearly certain that I could! )

2. Pay bills…..does it get any more MUNDANE??

On the TOP of my mundane task list…Number ONE, Numero Uno…without a doubt~

1. Unloading the DISHWASHER….
(Don’t get me wrong, I am THANKFUL to have that handy dandy appliance…but it is a mundane chore that I face each morning emptying that thing to begin again.)

Spiritual endeavors, any of them?? I’m the first to admit that I often don’t find my the spiritual high point of my day when I am scrubbing the toilet bowl.

Is there any escape from the mundane??
Not likely, but perhaps there is hope in our perspective.
Did those women of previous generations have it any easier? Was life simpler? Did THEY escape the mundane?

Sheila Gregoire gives us a glance into 3 women’s lives from era’s gone by in chapter 2. One woman living in 1869, one from 1952 and a woman of our day, 2002. Why do we feel that somehow they coped better, managed it better, and somehow ended the day, “less tired.”

Bob Dylan appropriately sung the words…

“Times they are a changin’”

The reality is that many things have changed.

We do not live in small, close knit communities as much as those sisters of the past. Our families are spread out, we cannot leave our children outside alone with the assurance that someone we “trust” would be watching out for them. With the reality of relocations and job transfers, we simply don’t always stay in one place anymore.

With these changes, we’ve seen the role of women change as well. It’s interesting to notice that while while women working “outside the home” is a relatively new phenomenon, the woman who was farming in a small town in 1869 was involved with every aspect of her home and often her husband’s business. They really were a team. Today we’ve seen the emergence of husbands and wives moving often in different directions rather than collaborating in business together.

Then there are the kids….

In days gone by, they were simply not involved in “extra curricular activities” they way they are today. My own mother did not have a car to chauffeur ANYONE, not even herself to the grocery until I was in 4th grade. In my neighborhood very few driveways have only one family car. We don’t have children who “work on the farm.”

The danger is that “advice” comes at us constantly; “combine that attitude with society’s rampant consumerism, and we have awfully pampered children.” (page 49) It’s an easy trap that many families fall into….raising self absorbed children in this day and age is much easier than raising children who make a real contribution to the household.
Should we go back to the “Good Ol Days?”

Before we jump onto our chairs and shout “YES.” Be reminded that we couldn’t do THIS study if we hop into the time travelers and zap ourselves back to the “Good Ol Days.” Reality is that we can’t go back in time, but we can take lessons from eras gone by and apply them to our busy lives today.

What we walk away with in Chapter 2 is that life was not less difficult or challenging for our grandmother’s or mother’s, just different.

They had mundane tasks to deal with daily, gathering eggs and cleaning out the outhouse HAD to get mundane! It was simply different. Our challenge is to look our own lives and learn to embrace the mundane, somehow transform the MUNDANE into something “spiritual.” Somehow look inward into our own lives to find out what may be missing and begin to SEE the mundane a bit differently.

I’m reminded of the words of Mordecai to Esther,

“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

JOIN us next time as we look at Chapter 3,”This Ain’t My Mama’s house!”

Chapters:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7

Lori is a 5 year homeschool mom to 3. Currently a 8th grader, a 6th grader and a 4th grader. Lori insists that when she was wrestling with the decision to home school, a gentle voice guided her with the words, “you know what you should do.” Never looking back, accepting the challenges and rewards and CONSTANTLY clinging to THE ROCK…”No Storm can shake my inmost calm when to this ROCK I’m clinging.” Lori hopes to impart peace and inspiration amidst the daily chaos. Be sure to visit her blog at All You Have to Give.