By Miriam Rossow

Nobody wants to be ordinary. We all want to be special. We all want to be good at something. We don’t want an ordinary education or job. We don’t want an ordinary car or house. We don’t want to be just an ordinary wife/husband or mother/father. We want the extraordinary!

I have struggled with this idea for most of my life. When I was a young girl I wanted to be an Olympic swimmer. I remember having dreams of swimming in the Olympics with hundreds of thousands of people watching me and cheering me on!

This dream did not become a reality as I was only on summer swim teams (and not actually good enough in all likelihood.) I did help our summer team win many trophies and earned many blue ribbons on my own and still I wanted to be more special.

Nobody wants to be ordinary.

As I grew my dream of the un-ordinary life changed from swimming to singing and acting. I could just imagine the lights on me as I sang or stole the audiences’ heart with my moving performance. This dream seemed more likely as I took piano and voice lessons, was in many performances and recitals, and even got a degree in music.

I remember in my high school  and even college years trying define who I was and set myself apart from others through my performances. I always felt great disappointment when I did not receive the solo or the part I was vying for. I felt as though I was not special enough; I was so ordinary.

I turned 40 this year, have been married 19 years, and have 4 children, so those dreams and feelings are far behind me in years, and yet in some way I still feel them today as I write this blog. I want the likes, shares, and comments on this blog to soar. I want to hear the praises from people that are touched by my words and find a way to connect to Jesus better.

Why do I write? If it is for the recognition, then I am in for a rude and sad awakening.  Even if I do get some likes and shares I am sure I will always struggle with wanting more!

Do I write to connect people to Jesus? Yes. And yet, even in that I am looking for some amazing and magical transformation in the lives of those who read this blog.

My life now is full of plain and ordinary. I make breakfast, read books, shuttle kids from school to home and to activities. I do laundry and go to the grocery store. I play trains with my 3 year old and teach him to flush and wash his hands after going to the bathroom. I cook dinner, help with homework, and put kids in bed. Then I wake up and do it all over again.

My life is far from exciting or special, and yet, in those everyday things, Jesus comes to me. As my kids pray over meals, share a story from their day, laugh with each other, and love on each other, Jesus is shared. As I watch my children grow up into a relationship with Jesus that affects the way they act and behave towards others, Jesus is present.

As I read a story with my three-year-old or spend time singing songs with him, I know Jesus is in that ordinary action. While my son and I take a walk and share the wonders of the creation together, we are met by Jesus. As we help each other, pray together as a family, or forgive each other for a wrong done to us,we share Jesus in our lives.

Although my dreams of fame may not have happened as I imagined, I don’t have to be sad or disappointed. I don’t have to turn away from the simple and ordinary things in my life to find Jesus. This is where God has placed me and where I get to follow him!

I don’t have to turn away from the simple and ordinary things in my life to find Jesus.

He is here in my everyday work of laundry and cooking. He is present as I make my house a place that is welcoming to both family and friends. He is in the everyday and ordinary work of mothering. As He is present in my ordinary, it becomes the extraordinary.