I am out of routine, and I don’t like it.
(Great way to start a blog, huh?) But seriously I am, by nature, a routine-kind-of-girl. And when my routine is out of sync I try to evaluate my weaknesses in this area and look for ways to be stretched and improved. But this isn’t always fun or easy.
For example, going on a family vacation is exciting and wonderful and I always look forward to it with anticipation– until the first morning in the hotel and I don’t know where to have my quiet time without waking everyone up with lights on and coffee brewing (routine). And later I find myself inwardly fussy because my “routine” was out of order or not like it would be at home.
This is pitiful, I know.
And after several recent trips, you would think I would be over-the-top joyful about being back home– back in my “routine.” But it’s not always that easy… And I laugh to think God is messing with me!
After my usual cup of coffee and prayer this morning, I decided to look up any scriptures with the word “routine” in them. This is a typical way in which God speaks to me– He leads me to His Word in search of scripture. And as usual, I didn’t have to look far before I found what He wanted to show me:
“I do want to point out, friends, that time is of the essence. There is no time to waste, so don’t complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple–in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things–your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out” (1 Corinthians 7-29-31, MSG).
Is this rocket-science-revelation?
No, hardly. But is it a good reminder? Yes, definitely.
What I realized is that while I’m trying to carve out uninterrupted times for prayer, studying and writing, I can actually be easily distracted with things that don’t seem to add much to my life. In fact, if I’m not careful, even my “routine” of having to have the perfect hour to focus can actually be a distraction in itself. Basically, an unmonitored routine is another subtle way the enemy can keep us from fulfilling God’s plan in our life because as one man said, “A rut is nothing more than a casket with the ends knocked out.”
So my rocket-science revelation is this:
What I do today determines where I am tomorrow.
That’s it. Every day is a gift and how I spend it (including my attitude) determines the next day, and the next day, and so on. So as much as I love a good routine, I refuse to let it define my destiny. It’s much more fun to be adventurous in faith with God.
God loves order. Look at how He created our world– every star in its place while the sun rises and falls in a timely manner each day. But God also loves faith. And faith is sometimes unknown and unplanned. We need to give God regular time every day but without guidelines so strict we aren’t free to flow with Him.
So be free! Give yourself permission (as I have) to just BE today. Be with God. Be yourself. All while remembering, what you do today determines your tomorrow.
