So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12
Have the words “I’m bored” ever come out of your mouth? In general, I don’t mind an under-programmed day at all, so I can’t recall declaring a sense of boredom very often in my life, but I know it’s been there.
I grew up in blizzard country. The technology for accurately predicting weather was still a few decades from being perfected, so a snowstorm could easily creep up right in the middle of the school day when I was young. Since it would be too dangerous for the buses to shuttle us back to our homes in the country, we would be stuck in town — for who knows how long. My mother’s sister lived right next to the school, so I always knew exactly where I would be spending the night when a blizzard stirred up trouble. Sometimes it was a couple of nights!
My Aunt Linda was a minimalist before it was popular. Her home was tidy and other than a robust plant collection it was somewhat bare. In mid-west homes, the basement was almost always the designated space for children to play. But when you descended the wooden stairs in Aunt Linda’s house, you would find an abundance of concrete and a scarcity of toys, or books, or really anything much for children. In all fairness to her, her own children had grown and left home many years earlier.
But the strange sensation that I remember in her home and even in her basement was one of peace. As we say now 'less is more'. Maybe that only means that I’m a minimalist as well. Or maybe it means that I never really minded being alone with my thoughts or coming up with creative possibilities when there wasn’t much in the way of alternatives.
The point I’m building up to though is the power of boredom — maybe we could call it the hidden blessing of boredom. What some might consider a boring situation often carries great potential. Look what it did for King David in his early years of tending his father’s sheep. There had to have been precious few avenues of entertainment and an abundance of time to ponder things greater than himself. David was able to spend long, uninterrupted evenings studying the stars. He became proficient with his harp and developed lyrics of praise to God that we still enjoy today. He must have crafted slings, gathered stones, and practiced endlessly — until he was accurate enough to kill a lion or a bear (1 Samuel 17:34-35).
David had as much grass as Aunt Linda had concrete — and not much else. But look what he did with his boring circumstances! He used it to a great advantage, as have many other great thinkers and inventors and artists and theologians and regular Christians. Oh, that we had more scarcity and less busy-ness in our lives — I wonder what we might accomplish for God’s Kingdom.
You may find yourself recently in situations which you consider repetitive or boring. Maybe this is a new experience for you. Perhaps this simple phrase — the power of boredom — might cause you to view your situation differently and inspire you to ponder things greater than yourself. Perhaps God is actually giving you a gift by removing distractions in order to develop other significant areas of your life to better serve Him.
Maybe some of this conversation is what is at the heart of our theme verse: So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
As for me, I’m just moving forward day-by-day. Even though little physical issues continue to pop up that require attention, overall I do feel that I’m getting stronger every day and functioning pretty close to 100%.
My Love & Blessings,
Sue
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