Life in the Mundane

Mundane: lacking interest or excitement; dull

The other day as I walked in a downtown area, I saw these young men with shovels just scraping and digging up all the grass in the cracks of the concrete. Then, it dawned on me, this was an actual job I would have never thought about. Yet, here in the blazing sun, these men were working hard to do that very job. Then, I had this profound appreciation for the men and women who do these mundane (at least it would be to me) tasks.

Who would even think that was a job? Definitely not me. Then, I had this overwhelming guilt because there are all kinds of jobs and people that I tend to overlook. These people are children of God, too, so why do I overlook them? That is a great question.

“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You as a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it for Me.’” – Matthew 25:37-40 NLT

This was the scripture that came to mind when I thought about this. It was a heart check for me that day. I want to so badly see people as God’s when I walk by them. I do not want to see them as just somebody doing a job. Each person has a story, and I do not want to overlook that. Each person was knit with a purpose. Each person is specifically thought of and known by Christ. Whether they choose to believe that or not is a whole other story.

These are the jobs that are looked at as not important sometimes. I mean I did not think of it as important before I saw these young men doing it. They were so polite, too. They stepped aside as my mom and I walked through. They had manners. They had smiles on their faces. They were not complaining, at least not that we heard. These are the jobs that get little to no thanks. These are the jobs that may be a family’s support. These are the jobs that, sometimes, others do not want to do themselves. Who else wants to fix a busted sewage pipe? Or manage a fast food restaurant? I do not think those jobs are most people’s first choice of career, but there are people out there with the passion to do those things. I am grateful for those people.

Try to see everyone you pass as a child of God. I have started imagining “The Lord’s” written across people’s foreheads, and it has given me a whole new perspective on life in general. I tend to be a people watcher (psychology major over here!), and I am constantly making assumptions about them. But now that has changed for me. Now I look at them, and I wonder if they know my God, my Redeemer, Yahweh, the one true God. My heart is burdened for these people. I have woken up crying a few times in the last couple of weeks because I am burdened to see these people come to know Christ because I know how life can seem hopeless without Him. Please, do not hesitate to take that hard step and talk to someone about Jesus today! It could determine their eternity.

“And then He told them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.’” – Mark 16:15 NLT