Blessed Routine 平凡是福
Dexu Xia
Without [God], who can eat or find enjoyment? Ecclesiastes 2:25
Watching the morning crowd pour onto the train, I felt the Monday blues kick in. From the sleepy, grumpy faces of those in the jam-packed cabin, I could tell no one looked forward to going to work. Frowns broke out as some jostled for space and more tried to squeeze in. Here we go again, another mundane day at the office.
Then, it struck me that just a year before, the trains would have been empty because COVID-19 lockdowns had thrown our daily routines into disarray. We couldn’t even go out for a meal, and some actually missed going to the office. But now we were almost back to normal, and many were going back to work—as usual. “Routine,” I realized, was good news, and “boring” was a blessing!
King Solomon came to a similar conclusion after reflecting on the seeming pointlessness of daily toil (Ecclesiastes 2:17–23). At times, it appeared endless, “meaningless,” and unrewarding (v. 21). But then he realized that simply being able to eat, drink, and work each day was a blessing from God (v. 24).
When we’re deprived of routine, we can see that these simple actions are a luxury. Let’s thank God that we can eat and drink and find satisfaction in all our toil, for this is His gift (3:13).
By: Leslie Koh
What simple blessings can you thank God for today? What can you do for someone who’s in need or is unable to enjoy life’s simple routines?
Dear God, thank You for my “usual” routines, no matter how boring they may seem at times. Help me to be grateful for Your every blessing in life
离了上帝，谁还能吃喝享受呢？—传道书2章25节，当代译本修订版
我看着早晨的上班族挤进车厢，星期一的忧郁涌上心头。在拥挤的车厢里大多是昏昏欲睡、满脸怨怼的脸孔，没有人期待去上班。车内的人想要一些空间，而车外的人拼命挤进去，大家都紧蹙眉头。我们又回到一个平凡的工作日。
这时我突然想到，在一年前，车厢里是空荡荡的，因为新冠肺炎的封城措施扰乱了我们的日常生活，我们甚至不能外出吃饭，有些人其实很想念可以回到办公室的日子。但现在我们的生活几乎恢复正常，很多人都像往常一样重返工作岗位。我意识到原来能过“公式化的生活”是件值得庆幸的事，“枯燥乏味”也是一种祝福！
所罗门王在思考日常的劳苦看似毫无意义之后，也得出了类似的结论（传道书2章17-23节）。有时，日常的劳苦似乎是永无止境、“虚空”和没有回报的（21节）。但后来他意识到每天能够吃喝和工作，其实是上帝所赐的福分（24节）。
当我们连“公式化的生活”都被剥夺时，我们就会发现这些平凡无奇的事也可以变成一种奢侈的享受。所以当我们可以吃喝，并在辛劳中得到满足时，让我们感谢上帝，因为这是祂的恩赐（3章13节）。
作者： 许文荣
今天你可以为哪些平凡的祝福感谢上帝？
你能为有需要或无法享受
常规生活的人做些什么？
亲爱的上帝，感谢祢让我过着“公式化的生活”，
尽管有时看似枯燥乏味，但求祢帮助我，
让我能为生命中祢所赐的每一个祝福心存感恩