The Extraordinary Ordinary

Today was a simple, ordinary day.
We began the day with home school, like we do so many days.
Our askari and friend was playing with the kids as they finished their work.
Two men came to fix the leaks in our roof. (Yet another joy of rainy season.)
The woman came who cleans our neighbor's house. Her son joined her.
Another woman, the sister of our weekend askari, came to visit with her baby.

Our compound was full of people, and the fellowship was full of love and peace.

As we began to gather around the table for lunch, the awesomeness of the moment fell upon me.  It is the same meal that would have served the 8 of us, but today, 15 of us were gathered together to eat. No one expected a meal, but all were thankful to be welcomed.
A simple meal, rice and soup, but in the sharing, it all tasted extravagant, so much better than it ever has before.
Nothing fancy, nothing planned, our lives all simply intersected on this day, at this time, due to a variety of circumstances.

Shortly after lunch, families from our church arrived to practice the kids' Christmas Program. Our compound was full, and again, I was overwhelmed with the blessing of it all. The friendship, the love, the community. After singing songs and rehearsing our lines, the children ran and played and laughed together.

All was right with the world.

Today was a day when life went on smoothly and the only things unexpected were the blessings of the most simple moments.

We were created to be in relationship. We are called to share our lives with others. We often feel the need to have an occasion or a plan for fellowship, or worse yet, our lives are so full that fitting it in is a challenge. Experiencing true, effortless relationship that happens smack dab in the center of ordinary life though, that is an amazing gift from God.