Seeing purpose in the mundane

Last updated on: November 7, 2014 at 5:07 pm by Guest Contributor

Seeing purpose in the mundane 2014-11-07T17:07:21-05:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

By Emily Ann Higginbotham

Being an intern at a financial firm has given me incredible exposure to the ins and outs of wealth management. It has also afforded me prolonged exposure to the copy machine, the supply closet, and a never-ending amount of envelopes to stuff. With the company’s annual symposium coming up, my last few weeks have consisted of mailing out invitations, creating nametags, and preparing packets for clients to have at the conference. For the last several days, I have primarily functioned as a one-woman packet assembly line. A dozen sheets of paper stretched out over a long table, my task was to walk down this long table, picking up one sheet after the other, and neatly placing them into a packet with a couple’s name written across the front.

After an hour or so, I thought to turn on some music to help pass the time. As I 5487874790_b5d1c7f7e3_z set my Pandora station to “Brad Paisley” I was not prepared for what happened next. Although I had been handling the same sheets of paper for what seemed like an eternity, I began to actually read what was written on each sheet, conference breakout sessions with titles like “How to Create a Digitized Will”, “How Alzheimer’s Relates to Financial Planning”, and “How to Prepare for Estate Planning”. Simultaneously, I took note of the unusually somber songs playing on my Pandora station – songs about growing old, losing loved ones, and preparing for eternity. I was overwhelmed!

In a moment, God had given me the gift of connecting my seemingly small and mundane work with his immensely purposeful and perfect work. I was no longer blind to the small but significant role he had called me to play in the lives of these people. I was helping offer comfort and peace to people facing aging, Alzheimer’s, and losing loved ones. Couples who had spent a lifetime together were now navigating strange and unfamiliar territory together, and it was too heavy for me! I felt led to pray for these people by name, praying for their financial situations, their marriages, and their relationship with their Creator. As Brad Paisley’s “When I Get Where I’m Going” washed over me, I couldn’t believe that I had let weeks go by without giving a single thought to the lives of these clients I was serving.

Walking down the assembly line again, I realized that this revelation hadn’t changed my job responsibilities at all – after all, I was still in a room by myself, stuffing papers neatly into a packet. My job had not suddenly become more riveting. My work still felt like work. But in God’s grace, if just for a moment, He had given me a glimpse of the bigger picture. And I felt such freedom in knowing that even when we can’t see it – God is using our work to bless others. All of a sudden I didn’t mind as much that my work was menial or repetitive, because God had met me in the mundane to tell me that my work mattered to my employer, our clients, and that, most of all, it mattered to Him.

Emily Ann Higginbotham is a Charlotte Fellow and originally published this post on the CF website. Image: Derek Bruff, Squeaky Copier.

Faith and the Workplace

Previous Post

November 6, 2014

Can work ever be good news?

Next Post

November 8, 2014 God works slowly

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art Audio posts Bible and Work Book Review Books Budgeting Calling Common Good Community Development Conferences Discipleship Economics Entrepreneurship Ethics Faith and Family Faith and the Marketplace Faith and the Workplace faith and work History of Work and Vocation Leadership Local Church Meaning New Blogger News Prayer Relationships Seminaries Theology of Work Uncategorized Video posts Vocation Worship Resources

Select a Month April 2026 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 April 2025 January 2025 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 May 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 November 2023 August 2023 July 2023 April 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 June 2021 May 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 January 2020 December 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 April 2018 March 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

A shepherd leads his flock beside still waters and through the valley of death's shadow. What is this shepherd's identity?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Apostles The Prophet David The Lord