Living the Dash

For most of my life, I thought being “ordinary” was the worst possible outcome. Nobody ever said, “Grow up and be average, honey!” No – we were told to stand out, sparkle, hustle, be exceptional, build a platform, or at least have matching throw pillows.

Meanwhile, I was just over here trying to keep up with what day the trash goes out and remembering where I left my keys… again.

But here’s what’s funny: Jesus Himself had a whole lot of ordinary moments that never seem to make the sermon circuit.

Sure, we love the miracles… the walking on water, feeding thousands, resurrecting folks, that’ll preach for sure. But Jesus also ate supper with friends, worked a regular job with His hands, took naps on boats, and tried to find five minutes of peace while twelve grown men followed Him around asking questions.

Thirty years of His life were spent doing regular life before three years of public ministry. If ordinary was disqualifying, the Messiah Himself would’ve had a problem.

And He wasn’t the only one. Most of Scripture reads like:
Regular folks, regular days, God doing something wild anyway.

Noah wasn’t a licensed boat builder. Moses had a speech problem. David was out with sheep. Peter didn’t have a networking strategy. Mary wasn’t an influencer… her whole miracle happened in her living room. But somewhere along the way, we modern Christians got it into our heads that God only uses the spectacular. That if we don’t have five talents, three giftings, a brand identity, and a mission statement, we’d better just sit quietly and clap for the extraordinary people.

I can’t tell you how many opportunities I’ve side-eyed because I felt too… well… normal. But lately the Lord has been peeling back the lie that ordinary is bad, like old wallpaper: slow, messy, irritating, and oddly satisfying. The truth is, most of life is built on small, steady faithfulness. Things like paying the bills, mowing the grass, raising the kids, making supper, and so on.

Nobody is out here handing out trophies for those things… but Heaven seems to pay attention. Scripture says, “Whatever you do, do it for the Lord,” and I don’t think that excludes weekday commutes or folding towels.

Jesus meets us in the parts nobody applauds.

Somewhere in that realization, I wrote another book. Quietly, no confetti cannons, no marketing team, no “five simple steps to your best life” energy. Just me, a keyboard, and the conviction that somebody needed to know ordinary isn’t a downgrade.

It’s called Ordinary Jesus. It’s done. It’s on Amazon (you can find it here). And apparently, I’m just now remembering to announce it now… because you know, life.

So if you’ve ever felt too plain, too average, too behind, too late, too unseen, or too unremarkable – hear me:

Ordinary isn’t a downgrade.
It’s the front porch where God does some of His best work.