For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; in returning and rest shall ye be saved;  in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.  Isaiah 30:15

To clarify- The quiet I’m talking about in this post is quiet as in uneventful. Not quiet as in silence. Here is a glimpse of an ordinary day:

I rise out of bed a great while before my children. After rinsing my mouth and a gulp of water, I dip my finger in a jar of coconut oil and poke a glob into my mouth. Coconut oil has antimicrobial properties so oil pulling refreshes the morning mouth. I do this while getting dressed and tidying the bedroom. 

I gather laundry and start a load. Next I prep my supplements for the day. The early morning sun begs me to stroll in its beauty. By the time my walk is completed I am starving hungry.  I fix breakfast of avocado toast, bone broth and fruit. Whenever possible I like sitting on the deck to enjoy my breakfast and read my Bible. I cherish these precious morning moments and find this stillness very refreshing.

I feed my children whenever they wake; my husband doesn’t eat breakfast. After the children are dressed, the breakfast mess is cleared away and the house tidied, I start my day’s work which might only consist of changing laundry loads, or making food. Or maybe mixing up a batch of sourdough bread, cleaning or a sewing project.  Naps or quiet time isn’t until two thirty or three, so the hours until then is the main time I have to accomplish my work for the day.  After naps its time to get laundry off the line and put away before starting supper. I slide a casserole in the oven and chop a salad. Josie is the table setter. Brewing sweet tea for my man takes a meal just a notch higher. After supper dishes I’ll sit in the sauna for 30-40 minutes. At 170 degrees, the pores roll with sweat. With an open lymphatic system, it boosts detoxification. After showering and family devotions, getting children tucked in bed is priority.  This is the end of a quiet day. I like ordinary. How about you? 

I don’t think its the vacations, the weddings, the company, or the social events that are essential for quality of life. Those are all enjoyable in moderation but I can’t properly focus on the important things of life when my mind is in a whirl of intense activities going on around me. Don’t we all need the quiet days when we can muse on life in an unhurried fashion and remember what life really is about? Maybe you thrive on social life which is fine. But can you be faithful and fulfilled in the quiet days?

Think with me about Queen Esther in the Bible. We don’t how she lived her life prior to becoming queen. This particular story recorded in the book of Esther covers only a few days of her life.  But what we read of her reveals a deeper level of dignity and righteous living.  I’m confident many of her days were quiet and ordinary.  She had no idea she would someday be a queen with a life or death matter hinged upon her! She was a wise woman to ask the Jews to fast and pray for her, while she and her maidens did the same. She could not have been the courageous woman she was had she not been faithful in her quiet days.

Among the Jews, women were expected to be quiet and serve in their home. But Esther stepped out of the cultural norm and risked her life to help God’s people.

Many of us are quietly serving in our homes day after day for year after year. Who notices when we strive to teach our children obedience when we are bone weary? Who notices when we take the time to prepare nutritious meals? Who notices when we faithfully wash the clothes and put them back in the drawers? Perhaps nobody but God. And as soon as we don’t do it, somebody notices!!

But how important it is to live faithful lives! We have know idea what prominent place we could be called to yet in our lives.  But if we were, could we be courageous like Esther? Only if we’re rooted deeply in faithful obedience to the Lord in the ordinary can we also be faithful in the prominent.

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.  Luke 16:10

On a typical, hanging out laundry type of day, be grateful for a quiet day at home. Think of some eventful things your glad are not happening today. Are you glad you don’t have a court hearing to attend? Are you grateful your not on stranded beside the road with vehicle trouble in downtown New York city? Something I often think of is how glad I am I’m not scheduled for surgery that day. Or how grateful I am were not in the hospital with a child. Think your life is boring and uneventful?  Be grateful for the ordinary, and keep on faithfully serving where God has placed you right now. Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?  Esther 4:14

Here’s a few more snapshots of quiet days at home.