Made for More
By Bonnie Hoover
Wake up, work out, eat breakfast, drop the kids off at school, head to work, pick up the kids, oversee homework, eat dinner in the car, dance, and baseball practice, and head home for showers and bed. Sleep, wake up, repeat. Do you ever feel like your life is just a series of mundane tasks and appointments that keep you exhausted and bored? Ever feel like you were meant for more? I know I do!
God has created a place for His people that is perfect. According to scripture, Eternity in the new heaven and new Earth will be perfect without sin. We also know that while we’re here on this sinful Earth, we’ll have to put up with a lot of stuff. However, does that mean we won’t find joy, excitement, and a wonderful, meaningful life? Absolutely not! While we can’t totally escape responsibilities (work, school, etc.), we can do a few things to mitigate the mundane and inject some breath and life into our marriage adventure.
First, we have to know why we are here and what we’re called to do. God has created each of us with a purpose and put us with our spouse to live on mission. We can find joy in even the most mundane tasks when we know they have a purpose. God wants you to be a light for Him wherever He has placed you. Don’t miss why you are where you are. Interjecting purpose and mission into the activities you are already involved in will break the mundane.
Another way to overcome monotony is to go against the flow. “Normal” is highly overrated! Sometimes we get stuck in the loop of “this is just what people do.” We get married, have children, move into the big house, work a job, get the kids involved in a thousand activities, wear ourselves out, pay taxes, and die. But what if that’s not the dream God is writing on your heart? What if you could go against the societal norm, take a leap of faith, and follow the adventure God desires for you? Dream with me for a moment. What if you could ____? Fill in the blank with your dream. Is it risky? Sure. But it’s not mundane!
One of the ways you’ll be able to go against the flow and live on mission is to set your standard of living below your means. So often, we feel stuck in our routine because we’re simply working to pay for all the stuff. Why do we have “all the stuff?” Because we’re trying to cram meaning into our lives. If we can live below our means, we’ll have the flexibility and options to “move around” the mundane.
God has created us not to manage life but to have an abundant, extraordinary, purpose-filled journey that impacts the world for His glory! Don’t quit your job and family and skip town, but begin talking and praying with your spouse about what it might look like to move from mundane to mission. Don’t settle for anything less!
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. –John 10:10
Listen to our conversation about Mitigating the Mundane on The Marriage Adventure Podcast, EP//93.
