life happens in the mundane

It has been a while since I blogged. To be honest, nothing exciting or out of the ordinary has happened recently. I can officially say that living in Haiti has become life. I have fallen into a routine, much like what we all have whether we are living in the US or in a developing country. My mission work has become an 8-4 job, my mission field has become the familiar faces of the neighbors in my community that I greet everyday in passing, my church family has become the multiple missionaries who just 3 months ago were complete strangers to me. Haiti no longer feels like a mission's trip, it has become the mundane, everyday life. I think I realized that I appreciate it more when I see it this way.

We all live most of our lives in the ordinary. We go to work, run errands, spend time with family and friends, and repeat. I have found that it is hard to see the significance of your life when you only focus on the mundane details, but I've learned through being in Haiti that life happens in the ordinary, everyday things. The little things we do make the biggest impact. Ministry happens in the ordinary, everyday. The way you live your life day-to-day and handle challenges and triumphs can be more impacting on others than a “mountain top” experience. Relationships are built, not in an instant, but through everyday, commonplace interactions.

You see, we are all in ministry. We should all be shining the love of Christ into the lives of those around us: in our work places, neighborhoods, churches, etc. It seems to always be more obvious in the lives of those who live on the “mission field,” as a developing country is often called. But I never want to lose sight of the fact that we all live on a mission field. We all can minister just outside our doors (sometimes, even within). No matter where we are in life, may we never lose sight of the mission field around us. 

“So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12