Routines

Give us each day our daily bread. Luke 11:3 

  

  My grandmother had daily routines that she enjoyed doing. They seemed to give her life balance. I drew comfort from the summers I spent with her waking up each day and knowing for example that Monday we would mop the floors, Tuesday carry fresh water from the spring, Wednesday do the laundry, Thursday buy groceries, etc.  

  Routines can be comforting. Like an old pair of shoes that fit our feet perfectly, daily routines can feel just right as we move from one familiar activity to another. Having our favorite breakfast each day, getting lunch at our favorite restaurant, actions and activities we can perform without even thinking about them, routines are comforting. 

  Routines and habits can be good things and we should both enjoy and practice them. For instance, Bible reading and prayer are beneficial daily activities. Yet we need to be willing to try new things, meet new people, give a new restaurant a chance, perhaps read that part of the Bible we seldom visit. Changes and breaking routines on occasion can bring unforeseen blessings. Even new difficulties can bring opportunities we could not have imagined. 

  Breaking out of old routines can be beneficial because it challenges us, stretches us, and opens our eyes to new abilities and opportunities.  

  If, like me, you dislike being jarred out of your everyday routines, perhaps by being positive and open we can experience blessings that would not have come otherwise. And even new challenges, if experienced in the power and grace of God, can give us new victories. 

  Enjoy the positive routines in your life, yet be willing to break out of them for something fresh and new and the blessings they bring. 

  Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for the blessings of routines in our daily life, and thank You for breaking us out of them when needed for new opportunities and experiences. Amen.