The Usual

“Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives…”

Luke 22:39

~~

Do you like the “usual”?

I do.

Not everyone is this way. Some people thrive on the adventurous. And I tend to admire an adventurous spirit in others. But pretty much everything about me is…well, usual.

I like my usual foods. I have a usual spot on the couch. I sit in my usual spots to write. I start my day in my own usual way.  I have my usual ways of interacting in relationships. I enjoy my usual hobbies.

My favorite days are those during which I don’t have to leave my house a single time. Don’t get me wrong — six kids in the house tends to make even the most mundane moment ripe for adventure.

Perhaps that’s why, as much as is within my power, I like to stick with my usual.

I’m so grateful that Jesus Christ stepped out of His heavenly “usual,” choosing to enter this broken, sin-ravaged, painful world when He didn’t have to.

Will you take a moment and thank Him with me for choosing to step out of His “usual”?

But once He was here, He did have a “usual” place He communed with His Father.

I wonder if this small piece of ritualistic “usual” brought some comfort to His human heart, as He dealt with very real hardships and trials of this earth. Did His heart long for the Mount of Olives, the way mine does at times for my front porch rocker?

I think it’s good to have a “usual.” A place where you routinely go for the purpose of meeting with the Father. Just like Jesus did. A place that signifies rest…meditation…communion…restoration of soul and spirit.

But wait…

what happened one particular evening on that mountain?

Sweating drops of blood…agonized prayers…sleeping followers…betrayal by a close friend…a bloodthirsty army…an unjust arrest…a well-intentioned defender…a sliced-off ear…a miraculous healing…a Savior led away like a sheep to the slaughter…

These things had never happened on that hill before.

You see, Jesus’ “usual” place didn’t preclude unusual things from happening there. And neither should ours.

Have a “usual.” But go there expecting the unusual.

And maybe even the supernatural.

The miraculous.

The divine.

Written by Jennifer Clarke