I knew two mothers. One quoted her daughter as saying, “My mother MAKES me do the dishes.” The second mother quoted her daughter as saying, “My mother LETS me do the dishes.”

God wants me to delight in the mundane and routine. Like any good parent, if I whine about being bored, he suggests “go clean your room.” One of the main functions of dopamine is to cause us to sense the importance of repetitive actions. ie: the dishes, laundry, driving to work, picking up groceries, going to church, mowing the lawn, etc.

I think that most of us “put up with” chores. The very word “chore” sparks a picture of drudgery. Yet, most of life is mundane and redundant, so, if I am able to delight in the mundane, then I will find myself delighting in most of life.

So often, people think that they can resent school, work, chores, and all responsible behavior and then cram enough excitement into the weekend that it “pays for” the misery. God wants me to delight all week long and through the weekend also. I, who was dead, am now alive in Christ, and being alive, I will constantly delight in the little things.

I once had my brakes seize up and my car went shooting across oncoming traffic straight into the mountain wall. I remember a quick prayer, “Looks like I’m about to meet you face to face, Lord, but I thought we had a lot more work to do first” as I smashed into the wall.

The car was totaled, the shoulder belt didn’t hold, and my chest bent the wheel. It was hard to breathe for a month. Still, all of life has felt so sweet since then. Now  I am always aware that each moment is borrowed time given to me from the Lord, seize it.

I’ve found that a good habit is to sing and pray without ceasing, unless, I suppose, it wakes other people in the middle of the night.

Singing is a great way to turn every task into life more abundant. I need to do the dishes with all my might. That’s right, dishes and laundry are definitely part of “whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10) because even the slightest thing we do now is far more than what we can contribute to the kingdom once we are gone.

I delight especially in the negatives: tiredness, pain, being taken for granted, routine. Because I will not be able to seize such opportunities like these for God in heaven, and, being a fellow laborer is such a privilege.