One More Ordinary Tuesday

This week our house feels a little like Grand Central Station.

Notes on the fridge and backdoor, on my phone, and even in my car, so I won’t forget what we have this week. There are parent meetings for Band, Choir, and Athletics. Cross-country practice. New school schedules. Worship planning. Youth group. Somewhere in between, I am trying to figure out who is driving whom where and what’s for dinner.

If your family is anything like ours, you’ve probably wondered if August somehow sneaks in an extra ten days’ worth of activities.

And quietly sitting underneath all of that busyness is another realization.

This is our last full week with Grace before we help her move into her college dorm.

For years people have told Allison and me, “Enjoy every minute. They grow up so fast.”

They were right.

The problem is, life doesn’t slow down just because you want it to.

There are lunches to make, practices to attend, laundry to fold, meetings to show up for, and a thousand ordinary responsibilities that keep life moving forward. Sometimes I find myself wishing for one more slow afternoon or one more evening when there was nowhere we had to be.

But maybe that’s the wrong prayer.

Instead of asking God for more time, perhaps I should ask God to help me be more present in the time I already have.

One of the things I admire most about Jesus is that, even in the middle of busy days, He was fully present with the person standing in front of Him. Whether it was children, disciples, or someone crying out for help along the road, people never seemed like interruptions. They were the ministry.

I’m not sure I can create more hours this week.

But I can put my phone down during dinner.

I can linger a little longer over a conversation.

I can choose presence over productivity.

Before long, our house will be a little quieter. There will be one less place set at the dinner table, one less schedule to keep track of, and one more reason to be grateful for the years we’ve shared together.

I already know there will come a day when I’d gladly trade a quiet house for one more ordinary Tuesday.

Maybe that’s true for all of us.

The ordinary days we sometimes rush through often become the ones we treasure most. So this week, wherever life finds you, don’t wait for a special occasion to be fully present. Today’s conversations, carpools, laughter around the dinner table, and even the chaos may one day become the memories you hold most dear.

So let’s pay attention.

Because ordinary days are often where God does God’s most extraordinary work.

With Gratitude,

Rev. Rodney Whitfield
Senior Pastor
Aldersgate UMC