"Everyone wants a revolution. No one wants, to do the dishes.”

I am so looking forward to getting together with a bunch of happy campers at Wildfires in August. It will be pure joy. Quite literally.

I am told celebrations hold a medley of three chemical triggers: endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin. And that’s before even the Holy Spirit turns up!

It is why we will go home at the end feeling tired, wired and fired. However, most of the big changes in our lives won’t happen at Wildfires - not that it should stop you coming - but in the small, repetitious moments of a normal day. And here lies the common problem: we always want to seek out excitement over the dull repetitious moments of our daily lives.

Tim Elmore says that thanks to the digital treadmill, the world has become addicted to “speed, convenience, entertainment, nurture, and entitlement”. That means anything that looks slow, hard or boring is instantly dismissed.

We want a reason to overthrow anything that looks to have no meaningful value to us but I love what Tish Harrison Warren has to say: “The crucible of our formation is in the anonymous monotony of our daily routines.” It is the anecdote to our obsession with needing constant stimulation which will only empty us out to leave us unable to enjoy and appreciate the smallest things.

Perhaps this is why Jesus in his sermon on the mount chose to signpost those looking for big answers to the smallest wonders of nature (Mat 6:26).

Now I long for God to “make all things new” and I am contending for the next awakening, but I can see how he likes to use the ordinary moments of each day. It is with each new morning that Jesus will bring about his revolution of love for a broken world. And by “ordinary moments” I am talking about daily spiritual disciplines.

It’s by doing the dishes, emptying the bins, reading scripture, and spending time in silent prayer. It is choosing stillness over stimulation. All this will build a steady resistance to the fear of boredom and the ordinary. That means we don’t need to wait for Wildfires or any other event this summer. And as struggle with patience, I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am! Happy camping!

*Kitchen sign cited by Tish Harrison Warren (Liturgy of the Ordinary, IVP, p.35.)