Mundane Chores = God’s Blessings

 I’m doing Priscilla Shirer’s Bible study, Gideon, with some friends this summer. It’s only been two weeks of homework and already I’m getting so much out of it!

As part of the study, she asks us to summarize what we learn each day in a “tweet” with the hash tag LessonsFromGideon. It’s something you can do even if you don’t have a Twitter account: just record your lesson in the workbook.  I can’t come up with one every day, but the process of trying to create a brief summary of the day’s study helps me solidify it in my mind.

Last week, we studied about how Gideon, the most insignificant member of his family, was doing the most mundane of tasks in the most mundane of places when God came to him. God called him a “valiant warrior” and told him to deliver Israel from their oppressors, the Midianites (Judges 6).

One lesson from that day was that my boring, thankless daily tasks today (think making the bed, doing laundry, cooking dinner, washing dishes, routine jobs at work) may be preparing me for a greater calling in the future. 

He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much,” Luke 16:10.  

Am I so faithful in the routine items of the day that God will trust me with something great for Him and His Kingdom?

The bigger “A-ha!” for me, though, was the idea that those mundane, boring things that I often dread or just take for granted, actually represent great blessings from God.

That bed I make means I have a safe, warm (or cool) place to sleep every night.

The laundry I do means I have clothes to wear, and lots of them.

The dinner I cook for my husband means I have a husband who loves me, provides for us, and comes home to me at night.

The dishes I wash (actually, load into the dishwasher) mean I have a nice home to live in, with modern appliances.

The routine jobs at work mean I have a job and that I find meaning in it.

What else do I take for granted each day that actually stems from a blessing from God? After all, 

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights….” James 1:17

How much better and more fulfilling would my life be if I had a grateful heart every day?  How about you?  Do you need to develop an “attitude of gratitude?”

By the way, I just “tweeted” the title of this entry. It’s my first tweet!  If you want to see what other people are learning while studying Gideon, search #LessonsFromGideon on Twitter. There’s some good stuff on there!