Routines

All of us have our own little patterns, schedules we ferociously guard, whether official or unofficial. I am not necessarily referring to things like:

• Get up at X:YZ AM


• Go to work


• Have lunch


• Work until closing time

There are other things we do that are almost OCD in their repetition and in their placement in our daily lives. For instance, after I wait for my computer to finish booting up each morning, here’s what I do … always:

• I open my email program to check for new messages.


• I open my web browser and visit the same seventeen websites (in the same order, except on those pages which have links to other stories I need to check out).


• I write or study, taking time to attend to the needs of my son (who as I write this sentence requires my attention).


• Lather, rinse, repeat.

I get kind of bent out of shape if I don’t follow this pattern. I can’t help it; I just feel like something’s missing, that I’m forgetting something if I vary my routine. I’m one of those guys who sets his alarm, then rapidly checks it three to five times before being able to close my eyes and go to sleep. This is just who I am.

During one of those web browsing “ruts,” I like to check out MSNBC.com, especially the page “Today in History,” which is found on the Education home page. At the bottom of said page is a quote for the day, and I really liked this particular one from just a few days ago:

“The happiness of most people we know is not ruined by great catastrophes or fatal errors, but by the repetition of slowly destructive little things.” — Ernest Dimnet, French priest, lecturer and author (1866-1954).

This statement is so very true. As a pastor I have seen this exemplified in many lives over the years; even if I wasn’t a pastor, I would have seen the truth of Dimnet’s quote. I believe we all have the tendency to think that the only way we lose control of our life is when we make that one big mistake. It’s like we are that hapless cartoon character who turns down the alley marked “Dead End,” invariably crashing into the brick wall at the end of the alley.

Most of us suffer from “repetitive stress injuries” when it comes to our personal lives. When we notice how out of control our lives have become, the reason we’re often blind-sided is because our own choices and behavior have been so subtle that we haven’t noticed the harm being caused.

A few years ago I purchased my grandparents’ home and had an apartment built for them on the back of the house. The house was built at least 55 or 60 years ago, and I suppose building codes were different back then. Anyway, when construction began, an interesting (and potentially devastating) problem was discovered: the main house was over six inches out of square. To the layman, that might not sound so bad, but when it comes to construction, it’s terrible. Adjustments had to be made to the new construction in order for it to even be safe enough to inhabit.

I use this example to illustrate my point: you couldn’t see the problem because it was so slight, so subtle. But even the smallest deviation can have far-reaching consequences. If you have to walk in a straight line for a mile, if you turn to your right 1/8th of an inch each step, it doesn’t seem like much. But if you look back at your starting point at the end of your mile, you’ll discover just how far you’ve drifted.

So I would encourage you to examine your life every day. Don’t take anything for granted. Bad habits, poor choices, “…slowly destructive little things” no matter how slight they may seem at the time, can turn out far worse than we ever bargained for. But on the opposite side, good habits and the right choices can make a positive and lasting impact on ourselves and our world.

Get into the Bible, spend more time in prayer, make a greater effort to witness and share your testimony, and instead of self-destructing, you will be reinforcing your spiritual strength.

We all know someone whom we look upon with a shake of our head and a pitying frown, sadly lamenting, “Oh, how terrible for them. If they’d only made the right choices, or if they would have only seen where their path would take them …” If we take time for self-evaluation, we can avoid being on the receiving end of those looks and comments. So look at your routines, and think not about today, but about where you want to end up.

In the weeks ahead, I hope to share some thoughts with you that have come up in recent conversations I’ve had with several people. Perhaps we can also get into another Bible study and Scripture commentary. Wherever the Lord leads us, though, I look forward to sharing the journey with you.

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