Vibrant faith found in the monotony of day-to-day
"It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them."
G.K. Chesterton wrote:
Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony.
Phew, let’s stop there. He wrote more, but this right here is worth stopping for a moment and reflecting upon.
Our family is in the thick of “do it again” and Chesterton hits the nail on the head…I don’t know if I am strong enough to exult in monotony. Especially when there is so much else to do, tasks to complete, chores to do, and productivity to be had. Do it again?? How about we move on to something else??
But, now, I may have to reconsider. Maybe entering into monotony is the very thing my soul needs to remind me to Sabbath, to have the faith of a child, to remember that I’m a human being, not a “human doing…”
Chesterton continued:
But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that he has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.
What an intriguing thought. I really like that idea that God makes every daisy separately, but never gets tired of making them. Each one is unique and slightly different, and nuanced, but there is a monotony to them, too.
Perhaps in the monotony, there is something for us to discover…we can discover
contentment in the monotony…
beauty in the monotony…
wonder in the monotony…
deepening faith in the monotony…
Maybe God desires to meet us in the monotony to re-ignite the fire of faith in our hearts to passionately pursue Him in love with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
If we’re honest, sometimes following Jesus simply feels like monotony. And it is. And maybe that’s the point. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, we are called to follow the Way of Jesus, to connect with God in His Word and prayer, silence, solitude, community, and so on.
Could it be the more we embrace the monotony the more vibrant our faith becomes?