Shared story: What I learned about the joy of doing mundane tasks

Today’s shared story comes from Ann Snelling, a speaker and writer from Silverton, Oregon. Her first column in this space appeared May 27.

My dad, Arthur Gregg, moved in with us in 2015 at the age of 95. He was sick with a UTI and required assistance with everything, and I do mean everything. That first evening getting him ready and into bed required the help of both me and my husband, Le. We barely managed to do what was needed. After Daddy was finally settled, Le and I turned to each other and said, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”

My dad had been amazing: healthy and living in his own house. Only recently had he relinquished his car keys. It was a complete surprise to return from a vacation and find him unable to live on his own anymore. Quickly we moved him into the in-law suite that was ready and waiting for a parent.

An antibiotic soon handled the UTI, returning Daddy to a much healthier and more active state. However, we felt it was in his best interest to live with us, and he readily agreed. We committed to taking care of him as long as we were able to. If the time came that we could not manage him, alternative arrangements would be pursued. Everyone was content with that plan.

Changes

But I still found myself asking, “What have I gotten myself into?” Caring for my dad was something I wanted to do and had anticipated ever since my mother had passed into Glory several years earlier. Now that he was with us, I confronted a long list of new responsibilities.

There was additional laundry, bookkeeping and bill paying, chauffeuring to appointments and church activities, having other widowers to our home for a weekly dinner, and a myriad of small things to handle. None of the tasks were difficult. They just represented a change—primarily an infringement on my time that I wanted to use differently. I found myself conflicted between a bad attitude about the tasks and knowing that God was not pleased when I was that way. I knew God wanted me to come to terms with the discrepancy. But could I tackle all I had taken on with an attitude that glorified the Lord?

Looking for answers

I knew I needed to spend time in God’s Word to uncover the answers my heart needed. Finding biblical principles to guide my life had been my pattern when faced with challenges. Since I was a young girl, my dad had demonstrated that pattern for me. Now that he was in my care, I needed to follow his example. My search began as I sought God in prayer to guide me to scriptures that would make a difference. This is a prayer God likes to answer!

The first life-changing scripture was “Serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2). Many years before I had memorized Psalm 100, but now it was as if I’d never seen—really seen—this phrase.

It was as if I had never seen—really seen—this phrase.

I understood the “gladness” part, but “serve the Lord” raised questions. Was I serving the Lord while caring for my daddy? Or were those just tasks I needed to handle before I got on with more important work for the Lord? How did God look at this season of my life?

Still searching

Soon I found a series of verses I have come to call my “whatever” verses. Three of them became significant. “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. . . . Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 17, 23, 24). “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

These were WOW! scriptures. Did “whatever” really mean whatever, anything, any task? Did it include taking care of my dad? Further searching led me to other scriptures that supported the same “whatever” principle. I was challenged to rethink my preconceived ideas about what serving the Lord looked like. Did God see the whole of my life as serving him?

Daily tasks

Soon a new way of approaching daily tasks opened before me in a glorious way. I realized that “whatever” meant all of life, including the tasks required to care for my dad. Not only did the passages encompass these daily chores but they addressed how God wanted me to do them: with gladness, heartily, to the glory of God.  

I had found my answer and in the process discovered a wonderful set of principles, not only to help me care for my dad but also to apply to all aspects of life. In the process, I realized God was more interested in how I went through my day than what I did. My attitude was of utmost importance. Serving with gladness was my roadmap.

This took time to integrate and make part of my daily mindset. I chose to regularly pore over these principles from God’s Word and daily commit myself to serve with gladness in whatever I did. It was life-changing. It brought great joy to tasks that would be considered mundane, trivial, or of no consequence. I discovered that doing them as an act of service to the Lord made all the difference.

Doing these tasks as an act of service to the Lord
made all the difference.

One of the most delightful conversations with my dad was a few weeks before his passing. We were together handling one of the more messy and challenging problems of caring for an aging parent. My dad said, “I don’t know how you can do this with a smile on your face.” It was a totally unexpected open door. I told him how God’s Word helped me care for him with gladness and that whatever I did was done unto the Lord.

“I’m glad you told me,” he replied. I still treasure that precious moment.