Wednesday Read: The Space Between - Living in Ordinary Time
April is ending. Easter season continues for another week (until Pentecost, May 24), but the dramatic events are past. Resurrection happened three weeks ago. Ascension is two weeks away. Pentecost comes four weeks from now. You're in the space between - after the climax, before the next major event. This is ordinary time, and most of life happens here.
The disciples lived in this space too. Forty days between resurrection and ascension, then ten more days between ascension and Pentecost. Fifty days total when they knew Jesus had risen but weren't yet empowered for mission. They gathered, prayed, waited, and processed extraordinary events while living ordinary days. They experienced the "already" (Jesus conquered death) and the "not yet" (Spirit hadn't come) simultaneously.
This is where most Christians spend most of their lives. Not in constant spiritual highs (those are Christmas, Easter, mountain-top retreat moments) but in ordinary time - working jobs, raising families, paying bills, having routine conversations. The challenge is living resurrection reality in ordinary time, maintaining awareness of what Jesus accomplished when daily life feels mundane.
The danger is treating Christianity as series of events rather than ongoing relationship. Easter happens, you feel spiritually energized, then ordinary time returns and excitement fades. Christmas comes, you experience God's presence powerfully, then January arrives and everything feels flat. You chase the next spiritual high instead of learning to encounter God in the ordinary.
But God isn't only present in extraordinary moments. He's present in ordinary time - in Tuesday afternoon staff meetings, in Thursday evening dishes, in Saturday morning errands. The same God who raised Jesus from the dead is present when you're stuck in traffic, frustrated with coworkers, or exhausted from childcare. Resurrection power doesn't only operate on Easter Sunday; it sustains you through ordinary Tuesdays.
Brother Lawrence, a 17th-century monk, practiced the presence of God while doing kitchen work. He wrote: "The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament." He found God in the ordinary.
This requires intentional awareness. In extraordinary moments (Easter services, worship conferences, powerful prayer experiences), God's presence seems obvious. In ordinary moments, you must deliberately notice God's work in mundane circumstances - provision in the paycheck, patience when you're frustrated, strength when you're depleted, peace when you're anxious. Same God, same power, less dramatic presentation.
Paul's instructions to the Thessalonians capture this: "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Not rejoice on Easter, pray during retreats, give thanks when blessed. Always, continually, in all circumstances - including ordinary time. This isn't manufacturing fake joy; it's recognizing God's constant presence in everyday life.
Ordinary time also tests what you actually believe versus what you feel when emotionally elevated. Easter services make resurrection feel real and powerful. But do you believe it when you're stuck in traffic on April 29? Does resurrection truth shape how you respond to Monday's frustrations, Tuesday's disappointments, Wednesday's discouragements? Ordinary time reveals whether your faith is genuine or just emotional response to dramatic moments.
The disciples' ordinary time between resurrection and ascension prepared them for mission. They didn't just wait passively; they prayed together, replaced Judas, processed what they'd witnessed, and positioned themselves for the Spirit's coming. Ordinary time isn't wasted time if you use it to prepare, pray, and position yourself for what God is doing next.
As April ends, examine how you're living in ordinary time. Are you waiting for the next spiritual high, or are you encountering God in the mundane? Are you treating Christianity as series of events, or as ongoing relationship sustained through ordinary days? Are you only aware of resurrection on Easter, or does resurrection power shape how you live every day?
The space between - after resurrection, before Pentecost, during ordinary time - this is where most of life happens. Learn to meet God here, in the ordinary. Practice his presence in routine moments. Trust resurrection power in mundane circumstances. Easter happened. That's enough to transform ordinary time into holy ground.
