Pairing socks, folding tiny t-shirts, washing bottles (and all their tiny parts), singing the same refrain of “You Are My Sunshine” at bedtime and changing diaper after diaper after diaper are just a few of the repeated acts of motherhood.

Listening to little fingers play the same scales week after week, struggle with the same dotted quarter note plus eighth note rhythms, yet watching those same little fingers triumph on the primer level arrangement of “Ode to Joy” or “Jingle Bells” are several of the repeated acts of a piano teacher.

Reading through the Bible time and again, singing “Great is Thy Faithfulness” for the thousandth time, cheering the teenager on in their wins and comforting them in their losses, and sitting with the elderly widow who needs someone to just listen to her concern are a small sampling of the repeated acts of ministry and everyday life as a Christ-follower.

Repetition can feel mundane, tedious, slow, and, dare I say, downright frustrating. How in the world, then, can repetition associate in any way with grace? Isn’t grace simple elegance or courteous behavior? That may be the way the world defines grace, but as one who holds the Word of God as her ultimate authority, I pose that we go to the Source to see what grace really is. Then maybe we can see how it can be associated with repetition.

The word “grace” is used over 120 times in the New Testament and 86 of those times are from the apostle Paul, who is appropriately nicknamed “the apostle of grace”. One way we see grace defined in Scripture is as “unmerited favor.” We see grace as the quality of God’s character that justifies us in Romans 3:24. Further, in Romans 11:5-6, we see that grace is not something that can be earned, but rather is free and undeserved. In Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, we also see grace as an act of God that is at work in us to empower us to live the Christ life (2 Corinthians 9:8, 2 Corinthians 12:9, & 1 Corinthians 15:10). So, it’s safe to say, when defining grace by God’s standard instead of the world’s, it becomes a whole lot more than simple elegance or courteous behavior. For the Christ-follower, grace is not even about what we do, rather it’s about Who is at work within us.

Knowing this about Biblical grace should then shape the way we view the repetition that we find in our lives. Instead of viewing repetition as something to be frustrated by, I am challenged to view it as an opportunity to sit in the grace that has been lavishly poured out on me.

In the truly frustrating task of washing baby bottles and all their tiny parts⎯ to include that little blue disc that allowed my Callahan to eat for the first four months of his life, leading up to his lip repair surgery⎯ I’m reminded that not only did God bless me with a baby to love, He provided a way for that baby to be nourished and grow.

In singing the same three lullabies on repeat, every single night, I’m reminded that for now, my boys want to be tucked in and lulled to dreamland by “Mom-Mom”, as they so sweetly call me these days. One day, they’ll be too old for that, and they’ll probably start calling me Dude or Bruh or some new word the kids will be using that year. So, I’ll savor the gift of grace that it is to be the person that helps to calm and settle them in this season.

Hearing a voice student work through the same exercise week after week may, at times, feel a little mundane. But witnessing the excitement when something finally clicks for that student and they can feel in their voice what we’ve been talking about for weeks on end, is what brings me the most joy as a teacher. Seeing the excitement on the face of that little boy (who may or may not have been bribed with ice cream to actually come into his lesson) when he plays a song for the first time and realizes, “Oh, I actually CAN do this!” is another priceless gift of grace. It is a gift that God has allowed me to use the training and talent He blessed me with to pour into children’s (and some adults’) lives through music education.

God’s grace is woven throughout Scripture in countless ways; this would turn into a dissertation if I attempted to list them all. But, through the Holy Spirit’s illumination of the Word, I find myself being reminded of the grace bestowed on my life daily.

Re-visiting the beloved hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” can feel slow and boring, until one looks at the richness of the text, pulled directly from Lamentations 3:22-23:

“Great is thy faithfulness, Great is thy faithfulness,

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed thy hand hast provided;

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.”

Did you catch that? Morning by morning. That’s repetition and grace. Each and every day, God’s mercies toward us are new and they never end. Over and over, He shows His love toward us through the grace He pours out and the mercy He bestows.

There is grace to be found in repetition. Perhaps the next time we find ourselves folding another load of laundry, teaching another scale, or singing another bedtime song, we can ask the Lord to help us see it. We will likely discover that His grace has been there all along, woven into the seemingly mundane, yet beautifully simple things.