Enjoying Your Life in The Mundane

There simply aren’t any grand moments in life, and we surely don’t live in those moments. No, we live in the utterly mundane. We exist in the bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms, and hallways of life. This is where the character of our life is set. This is where we live the life of faith. ~ Paul David Tripp

Does life ever feel boring and mundane? Do you ever feel sad, lonely, and just plain ‘blah’? Learning to create a life you love and enjoying your life in the mundane is living in the abundant life that Jesus speaks of in John 10:10.

I used to struggle with a heavy heart quite often, but by the grace of God, I have found tremendous healing for myself in this area. Last week, however, a spirit of heaviness came upon me so strong and I couldn’t understand why.

Then I had a conversation with a dear friend and through processing with her, I realized that the weekend before had been a mountain top weekend for me. I spent a long weekend with my family. You see, spending quality time together as a family is my place of joy. I am at my happiest when I am with my loved ones. So when I came back home, I was back to my normal routine. I was back to the “mundane” of my life. Because it was such a stark contrast from the weekend before, I felt bored, and even depressed.

When your life is in a normal routine, it can feel boring or mundane.

This, however, is a lie. Living in the mundane is where life is lived. It bothered me that I felt so down about being back in the rhythm of my life, but after further discussion with my friend I realized, that there is something about our human nature that the routine of life can leave us feeling restless, bored. Think about how on Sunday evening’s we get the “Sunday Scaries” or the “Sunday Blues.” It’s because the fun of the weekend is over and now we prepare ourselves for the work week ahead, anticipating the humdrum of it.

Acceptance is the key to enjoying your life in the mundane

We need to learn to accept that sometimes life is a mountaintop experience, full of feelings of excitement and joy, and these times are gifts from God. Other times life is, well… boring or mundane. However, this too is a gift from the Lord. It’s simply about perspective. Having an awareness of this fact can be helpful to keep a positive attitude through each and every day we have been given.

Life is a gift from God, whether we are at our happiest or just living in the mundane of everyday life.

The question is why? Why do we feel bored with the routine of our lives? I believe it’s because we need to adjust our mentality and not separate the mountain top moments of life from the seemingly mundane times. We need to create a life we love. Something I read many years ago helped me have a better attitude towards my seemingly boring life. Actually it changed my life. A blogger, Seth Godin wrote, “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.”

“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need escape from.” ~ Seth Godin

Creating a life you love comes down to what your perspective on life is.

If you bring Christ into every part of your life, making choices, responses, passions and attitude according to His will, you will create a life you love.

Living in the fullness of all that God has for you is being intentional with your attitude towards the life He has given you. It is living a rich and satisfying life that Christ wants you to have (John 10:10).

Sometimes, however, it’s not easy to enjoy your life when it feels routine and boring. So here are some practical suggestions to help you enjoy your life in the mundane.

1. Talk through with a trusted friend.

God created us for fellowship. He wants us to share our burdens with one another (Galatians 6:2). Find someone you can process your concerns and/or worries in life. Someone to have a cup of tea with or go for a walk with.

2. Get some exercise, preferably outside in the fresh air.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us that “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, ²⁰ for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” God wants us to take care of our bodies. Exercising is a vital part of good health. If you can get outside in the fresh air, that’s a double bonus.

3. Make a gratitude list.

There is always something to be thankful for.

Some of the blessings in my life are simple things like the opportunity to talk to a friend, the ability to go for a walk, or having three healthy meals. God tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to”Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.“

Gratitude is at the center of a life of faith. It sounds too simple to be true, but isn’t that the sign of all deep truth: so simple we’re tempted to dismiss it, and so hard, it is exactly what God uses to change our hard lives.” ~ Ann Voskamp

4. Get creative

What is something you enjoy doing? Whatever it is, do it. For me I love reading and writing. I find when I do these things I enjoy my life more. If you don’t have a hobby, or something that helps your creativity flowing, pray and ask God to reveal to you what you could explore. You can also do some research on how to get creative. Here’s a blog post to get you started: “Make God Look Great. Create.“

5. Praise Jesus

Train yourself to praise Jesus in those mundane moments.

Praise Him even when you don’t feel like praising Him and, in fact, praise Him especially when you don’t feel like praising Him. The truth is we live in constant spiritual warfare and the devil prowls around looking for moments to throw his fiery darts at us (Ephesians 6:16). I believe he uses those moments of loneliness and boredom to attack. Praise is a powerful weapon to counter attack these fiery arrows of the enemy. May we, the people of God, learn to agree regularly with the psalmist in Psalm 18:3 and say “I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and He saved me from my enemies.”

So, when life feels boring and mundane, and you start to feel sad, lonely, and just plain ‘blah,’ train yourself to have a new perspective, one that enjoys life in the mundane.

The abundant life is a life lived for Christ, seeing the mundane as rich and fulfilling. It’s a life lived enjoying everyday moment, with the knowledge that God desires you to enjoy His gift of life.

Invite the Holy Spirit in to show you areas of your life that may need changes. Make your life like a tapestry, enjoying the beauty in every minute of each day. Ask Him to show you specifically what you can do to create a life you love and find joy in the mundane.

“So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can.  And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.“~ Ecclesiastes 3:12-13