They had a great life.
He was a minister of music at a church in a small Alabama town. She was his wife, and the mother of their son and daughter. They loved each other very much. Though their income was modest, they didn’t want for much, and they lived within their means.
During the day, the children attended the local school, which was run properly and efficiently by great teachers and administrators for the most part. Every evening, they joined their mama and daddy around the table for a home cooked family dinner.
It was the perfect, ordinary life. Right?
Hmmm. I mean, it sounds pretty “ordinary,” doesn’t it? A husband, wife, daughter, and son growing up under one roof with a modest income and a happy home life. That’s “ordinary,” right?
Actually, no—it’s not. A lifestyle like the one I just described isn’t ordinary at all. It’s extraordinary. The lifestyle I just described was the lifestyle my parents created and lived.
I often talk about this subject—living an ordinary life versus an extraordinary life. Often, people will object. “Andy,” they’ll say, “what’s so wrong with ordinary? I don’t need a ton of money and a big house to be happy.”
And they’re right. No one needs a ton of money and a big house to be happy. What they’ve missed, however, is what “ordinary” actually is.
- Debt is ordinary.
- A bad marriage is ordinary.
- Bad parenting is ordinary.
- An unfulfilled spiritual life is ordinary.
- Living day after day with unfulfilled dreams is ordinary.
Knowing all of that, let’s ask ourselves something…are we okay with ordinary? Or do we want to be extraordinary?
It’s a choice we all have to make. How will YOU choose?
