The Gift of a Simple Year

The New Year comes. May you experience the gift of simple days where the Holy walks with the ordinary. "I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil---this is the gift of God" (Eccl. 3:12--13 NIV).Sometimes I forget to notice the simple joys that comprise my daily routine. A morning kiss served with a cup of coffee, the fresh smell of laundry cleaned, a meal together at the end of the day---these are the threads weaving my life into holy days.Most of us are oblivious to the Holy tucked away in the corners of our life. We want the sparkle and flashing lights that come with the announcement of angels and the riches of the wise men. But Christmas is over and a New Year awaits us. I hope this year to embrace the simple more.In The Rest of God, Mark Buchanan comments, "This is a gift of God: to experience the sacred amidst the commonplace---to taste heaven in our daily bread, a new heaven and new earth in a mouthful of wine, joy in the ache of our muscles or the sweat of our brows."Where do you find the sacred amidst the commonplace? What are the simple joys that tie the Holy to your day?