I enjoy spending time with my husband tremendously.
The year-long lockdown we’ve been subjected to has been largely bearable (even enjoyable) for me because of the fact that my husband has been at home.
Many days when he works from home, he is cooped up in our home office (mostly hiding from the kids), trying to work efficiently. In times like those, I tiptoe down the hall with a cup of coffee while the kids watch television to sneak in a few moments of conversation with him.
If he isn’t particularly busy, or when the kids take their afternoon nap, he works at the dining table as I cook or read on the couch. We don’t say much in those moments. We just go about our business – enjoying the quiet companionship.
However, when the “big days” show up on the calender – like a birthday or an anniversary, we can be a little extra. Paulsam treats me with something special and I like to bake something a little too sweet for any other day of the year. And while I truly enjoy the “big days”, it’s the ordinary ones that are more abundant.
Colossians 3:17 reads “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” What a challenging command this is! At first glance, it seems almost impossible to achieve. Whatever I say or do? How am I possibly going to manage that? These were the questions that ran through my head as I came across that verse. But then, I thought back to my husband. Everything I do, every relationship I maintain, all my activities and thoughts reflect the fact that I am a woman under my husband’s headship. To keep my thoughts pure, my loyalty undivided, and my intentions honorable, have all become, purely by the grace of God, second nature to me. When I talk to my children, they are aware that their parents work as a team. When I talk to our friends, they know I do not make plans on my own. When I talk to strangers, it quickly becomes apparent that I am a married woman.
These are not things that I make an effort to convey. It comes naturally to me because the fact that I am Paulsam’s wife is so deeply a part of me – of my identity. In fact, that’s exactly how I describe myself on the blog. “My name is Evangeline Samuel. I am a disciple of Christ, married to Paulsam…”
This is true for everything that is deeply rooted in us. We no longer have to think about it. It becomes a part of our very nature. I am sure for those of us who are married, the term “husband” or “wife” sounded foreign to our ears in the early days of marriage. As the days went by, the term comes to us with no effort. In the same way, when we become rooted in Christ, every activity, desire, thought, and ambition will be oriented around Christ. We will indeed be a true representative of Christ. Nobody can cross paths with us without catching a whiff of Him.
The same is true for “big days” and “ordinary” ones. Many of us have the false idea that unless we do something great for the Lord, we have done nothing at all. The problem there is we define what is great. ‘Great’ for one might mean becoming a well-known Christian in their chosen field for the glory of God. For another, it might be to work as a missionary overseas. For yet another, it might be the selfless ambition to lay their life for the advancement of the Gospel. While each of them might stem from honourable intentions, I recall a diary entry by Sadhu Sundar Singh: “It is easy to die for Christ. It is hard to live for Him. Dying takes only a few minutes—or at worst an hour or two—but to live for Christ means to die daily to myself.” So while those “big” ambitions certainly have their place, it’s in the “ordinary” that a deep relationship is formed.
I came across a similar article by Tim Challies where I stumbled upon the words of George Everard. Based on the principle of “doing everything for the glory of God”, Everard writes:
“No single moment of our lives, no single action — ought to be taken outside of the sphere of this rule.
Our rising up and lying down,
the disposal of our time,
the spending of our money,
our social gatherings,
our conversation,
our recreations,
the way of conducting the affairs of our household,
the books we read,
the letters we write,
buying and selling,
business transactions of various kinds —all these, and a multitude of other suchlike matters, are all to be ordered under the daily guidance of the same principle.
Reader, beware of neglecting to exercise this Christian principle in little things. Great occasions for serving God occur but seldom; lesser ones arise every moment. Little things are not to be despised. “He who despises little things, shall fall little by little.” Little omissions of duty, little acts of disobedience, as they may seem to us — may prove a great hindrance along our path. A few grains of dust, or a small insect in the eye, will often cause great pain and annoyance. A little stone in a horse’s foot will make it stumble again and again.
What a wealth of truth lies in these words! I am often guilty of having the mentality to “go big or go home”. Unless I have spent a substantial amount of time in prayer for the day, I feel like I have hardly prayed at all. If I start my day late, I think to myself, I’d rather not pray instead of just addressing God with a couple of hurried words. I’d rather wait till I have a bit of quiet time. On most days, as you parents are far too aware, that time never presents itself. I read a quote by Pete Grieg last week that encouraged me greatly – “The best bit of advice I’ve ever received about how to pray was this : keep it simple, keep it real, keep it up.”
So, dear friend, the little things matter. The every day counts more in the life of a Christian than we give it credit. Each day has the potential to see us die a little more ourself and to grow a little more in Him. It’s the direct result of a series of small decisions. Make each day count.
4 comments
Such a truth, so nicely said. Good for you, …..and for us 🙂 that you use this God given talent of mastering so well words, statements , stories to convey truth, challenge, inspire , encourage….It spoke , once again crystal clear to me.
Praise God. Thank you so much for reaching out, Daniela!
Very nicely written Eva! Well said and conveyed about an every day kind of love ❤
Praise God.
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