As the parent of an 18 month old, I have recently been challenged by the concept of finding joy in the ordinary moments of life. I am unable to leave my front door of a morning without my daughter voicing her amazement of a flower in our garden, the birds flying overhead or pink sky being displayed as a new day begins. Hearing the word “Wow” from my child throughout the hectic schedule of a day is a simple reminder of the beautiful mind of a child.
As adults, we are quite often too busy to notice such beauty. There is too much that we need to accomplish our deadlines that have to be met and these, essentially, can place a pause on any ability that we have to stop and marvel at just how amazing God’s creation is.
I think that everyone would agree that the last few months have caused a large shift in what our society might view as important. The daily life that we once knew was turned greatly on its head, causing us to spend more time at home and more time with our families. At the start of restrictions being in place, many wondered how they were going to survive without their regular social gatherings or events but the silver lining to this is that people have now adjusted to finding joy in the ordinary.
The things that we use to take for granted, we now appreciate even more. The big family dinners, the classrooms full of children and those random catch ups with friends are more valued than ever before.
From a Biblical perspective, we read in Psalms 139:16; All the days ordained for me were written in your book, before one of them came to be. We have a limited amount of time in this place and although our days can be full of schedules, we need to take the time to stop and marvel at the beauty that is around us. Children are very good at reminding us of the beauty of everyday things and at the moment, I am challenging myself to stop and to be in awe of the beauty of God’s creation, just as my daughter does every day.
Laura Ferguson - Academic Coordinator