Finding God in My Kitchen: Lessons in Ordinary Holiness from St. Thérèse
I froze as I stared at the kitchen countertop. Didn’t I clear this space just an hour ago?
Now it was a playground of potato peels, puri crumbs, and sticky bowls plastered with chutney and sev — messy proof of a long day that hadn’t ended yet. I’d done so much yet had nothing “productive” to show for it.
Just messes cleaned, meals made, and little hearts tended.
I really didn’t want to do this again. I could feel the urge to scream rise up.
Then, at the edge of my frustration, a gentle thought nudged my soul: This is your offering. Do it with love.
And just like that, in the middle of my messy kitchen, God entered my ordinary day.
The Sacred Everyday
We tend to look for God in the grand: in the breakthroughs, the retreats, the mountaintop moments. But most days, we’re settling cabinets, squabbles, and everything in between. No retreats. No Bible study groups. Just working with love in the trenches. Doing ordinary things.
Yet, Scripture reminds us that we can find God in everyday life because the ordinary becomes holy when touched by Him:
Little Things, Great Love
St Thérèse of Lisieux grasped this mystery. Too ill to chase her missionary dreams, she lived a hidden life in her Carmelite convent. Her days were filled with mundane chores. But Thérèse discovered that even the simplest and dreariest of duties could become holy sacrifices when they were done with love.
So Thérèse didn’t just do her share.
She sought out the difficult tasks. She volunteered to care for an ailing nun known for her mean streak. She ate whatever she was given, even leftovers, without complaint. Every day, Thérèse died to herself. And she did all of this quietly, receiving little to no appreciation. (Sound familiar?)
It takes tremendous courage, sacrifice, and strength to do what this beloved saint and Doctor of the Church did.
A Challenging Spirituality
To an ordinary Catholic like me, St Thérèse does not just offer a way to holiness. She presents me with a great challenge: Do your ordinary work not only with love but with humility and a complete emptying of self.
Ouch!
If you ask me, that may qualify as a “little way,” but it sure isn’t an “easy way.” And therein lies its path to holiness: If I’m ready to live out this “little way,” I can find God in this nook I call home. I can nurture bodies, minds, and hearts, all while inching closer to holiness myself.
Because God doesn’t need me to clear my calendar and take an appointment with Him. He’s already with me in my cluttered kitchen, at my overfull study table, and in my children’s stories.. I simply need to recognize His presence and respond.
And I’m learning to respond in ways traditional and new. Here are some ways you, too, can find God as you go through your day.
Simple Ways to Find God Everyday Life
The Mission Field under My Roof
So… there was my countertop. As I stood in front of it, I knew I was being called to humbly wipe down, without sighing in protest, without making a show. Wipe down I did, as humbly as I could. With a soft “Lord, this is for you. Use it as you will, little as it is.”
I’m learning now that the slow chiseling of our souls occurs when we patiently teach the same lesson for the hundredth time, gently offer a soft answer instead of a retort, or lovingly hold a tantrum-throwing toddler.
These little offerings done with love rise up as prayers.
Holiness is not reserved for monks and mystics. It’s here, in our hearts, our hands, our homes. This is our mission field. And here, holiness doesn’t always look like a mountaintop moment. More often than not, it looks like sticky floors mopped with self-giving love and a “simple look turned toward heaven.”
For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven…
St. Thérèse of LisieuxIn faith,
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We all love to do great things for God but doing simple things with great love is what the Lord seeks. Beautifully written. God bless
I so like this. Please do share more of your inspired writing.. ?? way to go.. I loved reading every sentence
Amen! So true! Thank you, Sunita!
Thank you, Konica! Praise God!