Beholding...
The author is a mom of six boys. SIX BOYS! It's understandable that the "unremarkable" in her life is the daily routine of keeping up her household. She mentions washing dishes, doing laundry, pulling weeds but those aren't the things that she specifically dislikes, rather it's the feeling of never being done --"no finish line, no fanfare, no award ceremony." Can you relate to that feeling? Whatever it is in our lives that seems "unremarkable," we can still appreciate that God provides. He has provided meals so that I have dishes to do. He has provided clothing so that I have laundry to do. What's on your unremarkable list? How can you turn those things into gratitude?
Becoming...
Oh no. This is not the most appealing topic: Learn to love what must be done? I think the author continues her point from her Beholding segment. As women, we've got stuff to do! Lots of unremarkable stuff to do. She points out that pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps and just muscling through will never produce joy (page 43). It begins with loving Jesus. Until the Holy Spirit took residence in my heart, I was not capable of loving Him. When we give our hearts to Jesus, "He give us a new mind and will through a softened heart that desires to please Him (page 47). What does loving what must be done look like for you? I do not think this means we will feel warm fuzzy feelings when we are faced with a stressful task or rough journeys to walk through -- it is not this type of love. But with our heart bent toward Jesus, we can choose to love what He loves and valuing what He values because we love and trust Him. What direction is your heart bending toward? What are the things that must be done in your life?