Mediocre Monday: What Are My Hands Reaching For?
I was headed in a completely different direction for today’s post. But then I listened to a podcast that stopped me in my tracks. It was an episode from The Gospel Coalition’s Deep Dish (“Covetousness: The Sin Behind the Sin”). And I can’t shake it.
I was moved, mostly because I realized how easily I believe the lie the world tells me: that my life is mediocre. Maybe it is, at least by Instagram’s standards. Or Pinterest. Or HGTV. Even compared to the good, Christ-loving women I follow; the ones with thoughtful rhythms, family systems, and beautifully cultivated homes.
But the more I sat with what I heard, the more I realized this: maybe the world is right. Maybe my life is mediocre by its standards. And maybe that is not a problem to fix. Maybe it is an invitation to see what God is doing in the middle of it.
The Toddler Lesson
We have been working on Thomas controlling his hands around others (pushing, snatching, all the things). Thank goodness for Abbey Wedgeworth’s book What Are Hands For? Game changer.
We are also trying to target patience, the joy of sharing, considering others, and taking turns, as much as you can with a two-year-old.
Our hope is that as we pray for God to grow Thomas’s heart for others, it will overflow into his hands and actions and impulsivity. We want more than behavior modification.
That is me too. When I think about this podcast I think about my hands and what they reach for to grab: that “buy now” button on Amazon, that shirt I do not need, that book that looks amazing but will only join the pile next to my bed, that reel or influencer that seems to have the perfect life or rhythms or home or marriage or motherhood strategies.
As I listened, I realized I am not so different from my toddler. I may not grab toy trucks, but my hands still reach for more, for better, for something else.
The Lie Beneath the Discontent
In the episode, Melissa Kruger said that behind every form of discontent is a lie. That line has not left me.
The lie says that what I have is not enough, that what God has given or withheld is somehow unkind. It is the same whisper that started in Eden. Eve did not need more wisdom. She needed God Himself. Yet she reached, believing that something withheld meant something missing.
That is me too, when I wish our living room were just a little bigger, or when I scroll and feel the pull to upgrade, improve, achieve. The world might call my life mediocre compared to all that, but God calls it holy because He is in it. He does His best work not in our polish but in our limits.
The Noise That Tells Me I Am Missing Out
We have never lived in a time when so many voices tell us what we are missing. Podcasts, reels, books, blogs all whisper that if we just buy this, fix that, start this new rhythm, we will finally feel whole.
But when I pull back the noise, what is really there? Usually clutter. Extra stuff, extra striving, extra noise. The thing I thought I “needed” only crowds out peace.
Even when I reach for something good, if it is outside God’s timing or apart from His voice, it brings the same emptiness Eve felt holding that fruit.
Paul’s Thorn and the Gift of Limits
Paul understood this wrestle. He pleaded with God to remove the thorn in his flesh, a weakness, a limit he did not want to live with. But God said no.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
Paul did not get the ease he wanted. He got something better: the presence of God in his lack.
Maybe that is the hidden mercy in our own “thorns.” The smaller house than we want, the limited budget, the waiting season, the rhythms that feel unimpressive. They become altars where grace shows up. They remind us that sufficiency is not found in having more, but in having Him.
The Sacred in the Ordinary
So I am learning to pause and ask, What are my hands reaching for? Am I reaching for Him, or for something I think will fill a void faster?
Contentment is not passivity. It is a fierce kind of trust, the courage to say, “God, I will receive what You have given as good, and I will wait for what You have not with gratitude.”
I can still dream big, try hard things, and lead boldly. I just want it all to flow from a rooted heart, not a restless one.
Because the life I have right now, ordinary, imperfect, beautifully “mediocre,” is not small. It is sacred ground because He is in it.
Something to Try This Week
As we scroll, shop, plan, or parent this week, let’s ask:
What are my hands reaching for?
What story is the noise telling me about what I need?
Where might God be inviting me to rest instead of reach?
And maybe whisper this prayer:
Lord, quiet the lie that what You have given is not enough.
Teach me to see Your presence in my ordinary.
Help me trust that Your grace is sufficient, even here, even now, even in what feels small.
From the Podcast
🎧 Covetousness: The Sin Behind the Sin — Deep Dish with Melissa Kruger, Courtney Doctor, and Jackie Hill Perry. Listen on Spotify or wherever you get podcasts, or use the web link:
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/podcasts/deep-dish/covetousness-sin/
“I got the life I thought I wanted, and it exposed that I needed a heart change, not a circumstance change.” — Melissa Kruger
“Satan offers a thing not on God’s terms. You think you are getting wisdom, you get death.” — Jackie Hill Perry
(Note: the site provides an uncorrected transcript. Please check the audio for exact wording.)
Additional Resources I Love
📚 Book for little hands: What Are Hands For? by Abbey Wedgeworth. I mentioned this one above. We have been reading this with Thomas, and it is a sweet, gospel-centered tool for helping little ones understand the purpose of their hands. Honestly the whole series is good and points straight to Jesus.
✨ Follow my friend Catherine: I love listening to my friend Catherine at Restoration Organizing (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill). Even if you’re in the area, she speaks to so much more than “tips and tricks and strategies” for decluttering. She points right to the heart . She talks about cultivating rhythms of grace and contentment in the space you already have.
