“There
are no extraordinary men... just extraordinary circumstances that ordinary men
are forced to deal with.” ~William Halsey, fleet Admiral and South Pacific
commander during World War II
When was the last time you walked
along the beach, sand squishing beneath your feet, and waves crashing on the
shore and over your ankles?
I discovered something last week
while walking along the beach looking for shells and again later while I lounged
in my beach chair and watched folks pass by. Almost no one could resist picking
up a shell that caught their eye. Why do we do this? Is there anything
extraordinary about sea shells?
I’ve collected scores of shells
over the past forty years, so this trip I decided only to collect extraordinary
shells. How did I define extraordinary? They had to have a twist or curl, much
like large conch shells. If it didn’t have a twist, there had to be some other
extraordinary feature to justify keeping it.
 |
| "fan" and "duck feet" shells |
No ordinary “fan” or “duck feet”
shells to join the hundreds of the same I already have.
 |
| my extraordinary collection |
I’ll be honest. Part of my motive
was to reduce the number of shells I took home. I had fun watching the waves
roll in and recede, then checking to see what was left behind.
As fun as this was, I saw the
parallel to how many of us live our lives. It’s not as though we choose the
ordinary. Rather, it chooses us, and we ride along with it.
When
was the last time you chose the path that led to the extraordinary challenge,
even as you lived an ordinary life?
It may sound like a
contradiction, but when you look to Biblical examples, like Christ, you find
ordinary men whose chose the extraordinary path and seized opportunities God placed
before them.
“When
they saw the courage of Peter and
John and realized that they were unschooled,
ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had
been with Jesus. But since they
could see the man who had been healed standing
there with them, there was nothing they could say.” Acts 4:13-14
Jesus’s life had purpose, and he
didn’t waste time. On the surface, he did ordinary things every day, but when
you dig deeper, he had many divine appointments, such as meeting the Samaritan
woman at the well (John 4) and raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11). Both
could be characterized as extraordinary.
Mother Teresa lived simply,
reportedly possessing only two sets of clothing. Her daily life was no doubt
filled with necessary, mundane chores, yet her service to poverty-stricken
orphans in India reflected extraordinary service to the “least of these”
(Matthew 25:31-45).
As I collected shells, I thought
about how often we settle for ordinary because we’re too scared or too set in
our ways to strive for the extraordinary. Or perhaps we believe, especially in some
Christian circles, we don’t deserve better or only those blessed with
extraordinary talents or calling should be in this realm. In doing so, we often
get trapped by the ordinary day-to-day time wasters like television, social
media, or games. Do you know how often I get “friend requests” to play games on
Facebook? It boggles my mind.
I'm not discounting the fact we all need downtime. I loved my time at the beach. It rejuvenated my exhausted mind and body. I’m also not
talking about acquiring the “best life now” as promoted by certain prosperity
preachers. Trials are a significant part of our earthly lives, as is the
routine day-to-day work or chores we must do. I’m referring to listening for
God’s plan of extraordinary work, divine appointments, and opportunities to minister
and be His vessel while walking the ordinary path.
Let’s not waste time focusing on
the mundane when God calls us to extraordinary tasks. When's the last time you listened for His call? Have the courage to ask what
He wants for your life, and then be willing to follow through, no matter how challenging
the path looks.
“Have
I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be
discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
 |
| Sunrise |
I’m excited to announce the
release of my Christmas novella on November 6. I’ll share the link to A Christmas Chance when it becomes
available on Amazon.com. Meanwhile, watch for opportunities to win a free copy!
If you’re not linked with me on Twitter, please consider doing so @
Laura_Poole.
If you’d like prayer for a
particular need, please leave a comment or e-mail me confidential requests. I’d
love to pray for you! J
God bless,
Laura
©Laura Hodges Poole
