Do you like to make “to-do” lists? I used to write them often, especially back in the days when I was juggling work, seminary, and a part-time church appointment. I found a list both satisfying and frustrating; I enjoyed checking off completed tasks, but was depressed by things left undone. Of all the lists I wrote, however, I don’t think I ever included “Take time to ponder” or “Take time to look for God.” I wonder why.
“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow…” (Matthew 6:28).
“Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things…” (Psalm 119:18).
Sometimes we think that spiritual insights only come from grand events: from angelic revelations, burning bushes, or mountaintop moments. But more often than not, God invites us to ponder the things that sit right in front of us. Ordinary things. Unremarkable things. The kinds of things we rush past on our way to what feels more “important.”
Jesus didn’t say, “Look for the spectacular.” He said, “Look at the birds… consider the lilies.” In other words: Pay attention to the small, the simple, the everyday.
God’s Kingdom has a way of hiding in plain sight.
The Spirit often speaks through the conversation we didn’t think would matter, the task we find mundane, the interruption we tried to avoid, and the small joy tucked into an ordinary day.
We keep waiting for something grand. God keeps pointing at what’s already in our hands or in front of our eyes.
When we take time to ponder what’s all around us, we begin to see the sacred woven through the ordinary. The cup of tea or coffee becomes a reminder of God’s daily care. The morning commute becomes a place of prayer. A small act of kindness becomes a glimpse of grace. Even the frustrations—the detours, delays, and unchecked tasks on our list—can become places where patience, compassion, or humility are formed.
We don’t always need a revelation. Sometimes we need new eyes. Today, choose one ordinary thing to hold in your attention.
It could be a part of your morning routine, a household task, a simple object, a conversation with someone you see every day, or even the view outside your window. Pause with it. Notice it. Ask, “Lord, what are you showing me here?”
Don’t rush. Let the Spirit teach you through the small. Just as manna fell daily in the wilderness, grace often arrives in small, daily portions. Enough for the moment. Enough for today.
Prayer: Lord, open my eyes to the holy that surrounds me. Slow me down enough to notice the gifts I overlook, the people I take for granted, and the quiet ways you are already speaking. Teach me to see your hand in the simple and small, in what’s already in front of me. Amen.
