Common: Five Minute Friday

Delighted to take part in the Twitter Party and the Five Minute Friday linkup this week! Many friends, from many places, writing for five minutes on the same word. Here's the link to the linkup. Kate Motaung is our gracious hostess every week and she's sincere and wonderful!

Our prompt:

Common.

Go!

Internet definition of common:

1. 1.

   occurring, found, or done often; prevalent.

   
   

   "salt and pepper are the two most common seasonings"

   
   

   synonyms:

   usual, ordinary, familiar, regular, frequent, recurrent, everyday; More standard, typical, conventional, stock, commonplace, run-of-the-mill; informalgarden variety "a very common art form" widespread, general, universal, popular, mainstream, prevalent, prevailing, rife, established, well established, conventional, traditional, orthodox, accepted "a common belief"

   antonyms:

   unusual, rare

   • (of an animal or plant) found or living in relatively large numbers; not rare.
   • ordinary; of ordinary qualities; without special rank or position.

     
     

     "the dwellings of common people"

     
     

     synonyms:

     ordinary, normal, average, unexceptional; simple "the common folk"

   • (of a quality) of a sort or level to be generally expected.

     
     

     "common decency"
   • of the most familiar type.

     
     

     "the common or vernacular name"
   • denoting the most widespread or typical species of an animal or plant.

     
     

     "the common blue spruce"
2. 2.

   showing a lack of taste and refinement; vulgar.

   synonyms:

   uncouth, vulgar, coarse, rough, boorish, unladylike, ungentlemanly, ill-bred, uncivilized, unrefined, unsophisticated; More

I'm reminded of the "commoner". That royalty would never stoop so low as to acknowledge a commoner. A common girl.

And yet, we LOVE Cinderella, don't we?!!! The gracious, kind, sweet servant-heart girl who is noticed by the Prince. It's as if her internal beauty was displayed outwardly with one wave of the fairy's wand.

In our deepest hearts, we know that the heart is where the battle lies and the battle is won.
Jesus won the battle, but it is WE who need to surrender. We're stubbornly not allowing Him into the battle. We are trying to win the wars on our own (and usually failing miserably).

But, it's common in America (and other developed countries) to be independent and stubborn. It's applauded to be on your own, on your own two feet. Well, we're also stressed out. We have that in common.

Instead of getting dizzy on the hamster wheel, maybe we should be less common. Maybe we should actually take a Sabbath rest. Honor our fathers and mothers. Cease to kill and slander others with our words and thoughts. Cease to be envious at what others display publicly when we don't know what's in their lives privately.

Jennie Augusta Brownscombe [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Last week I quoted Romans how while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We have sin in common. And as we approach Thanksgiving Day, I am reminded that the Native Americans had pity and compassion on the unprepared settlers and helped them farm and sustain their very lives that winter. Love is the common thread that binds up all our wounds.

And, love is greater than all other things. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

~Tammy
P.S. List your linkup number or URL in your comment, please! I don't want to miss reading your post. I can't find you any other way unless you're a regular here. :)