How’s your day going? How was yesterday? How about the week itself? Was it a typical week for you? Think for a moment, about your routine week. Work, or school… meals… sports… shopping… laundry… sleeping… showering… exercise… a little free time…
“Routine” is very pleasant to me. Things going along as I expect them leads to contentment in my mind. Of course, “as I expect” includes some unexpected, too. I don’t know what’s for dinner every night, until I decide to make it. Conversations with friends and family, what night we have dinner with my folks, what I’m reading, what we watch on TV…. There are variations to the routine, and that’s fine. That’s fun, even. Variety is the spice of life, right? It’s just that some of us like things only a little spicy, I guess.
I read last year about something called mindless efficiency. I didn’t read much, to be honest, I just read the phrase and then my mind went where it went. Now, I have to tell you, I like efficiency. A lot. I like things smooth and logical. And I make changes in my life ~ in my routine ~ when I find ways to make things more efficient.
{Drives my kids crazy that I program the microwave to heat something for 22 seconds, instead of 20, because it’s faster to hit the 2 twice, than it is to waste a half-second finding the 0.}
But I’m also very aware of the danger of routine. Routine is just a step away from boring, after all. And that word “mindless” is, of course, not a good thing. Even the little things in our life, I think, should be purposeful. Like how we program our microwaves, for instance…
The holidays are coming. With their repetitive, let’s-do-it-this-way-because-we’ve-always-done-it-this-way-ness. Turkey and trimmings, and trees and trimmings. That’s what’s coming. Will this Thanksgiving, this Christmas be any different? Should it?
Doing the same thing over and over can result in stagnation, or worse: mindlessness. Start praying now about what your holidays should look like. They might look a lot like last year’s and that’s okay, if the planning involves Him.
There has to be a difference between “mindless” and “routine… between “mindless” and “tradition”. Gratitude and love, peace and joy… These are all gifts from Him. These should be our traditions, whatever else our holidays look like.
Light Expectations 