I Can Even Do It Without Thniking!

Routine. Route –ine: the habit of following the same route or path consistently, without variation or change. As in, I had a routine day, or, it was a routine play for the shortstop. Always the same – monotonous, boring. Something I could almost sleep through and still get it done.

I suspect you know exactly what I’m talking about. So much of what we do, especially as adults, is routine. We’ve learned the process of our job so well that we can almost do it without thinking. We’ve eaten pretty much the same meal before; we don’t give the food much mind as we sit there. The fork almost moves automatically.

I’ve noticed that as I get ready to shave in the morning, I follow a routine. I put the hot washcloth to my face the same number of times, shake the shaving cream can the same number of times, and spread the shaving cream onto my face in the same pattern every day. The razor makes contact with my face at the same point every day.

Do you have any routines? I bet you do. Having routine lives may be somewhat boring if you take the time to think about it, but it isn’t necessarily bad or dangerous. But it can lend itself to inattention or daydreaming, since we don’t have to (or perhaps, better said, don’t think to) pay attention.

Driving to work has become routine for me. It has reached the point that I don’t pay that much attention as I drive in the mornings.

The problem is that this morning I was unattentative to the extreme. We were about two-thirds of the way to her school, breezing along in the dark, when I asked my dozing wife, “Where are we?” I had suddenly noticed that nothing seemed “routine.” Of course, she had no idea at all where we were; she’d been asleep for about ten minutes. As we continued down the road, I tried to see familiar landmarks as my mind backtracked to the last known landmark I’d seen.
That would have been the shopping center with the traffic light, I decided. I knew I’d made the correct turn there. After that, I didn’t remember anything. I didn’t know if I had made the next turn. I didn’t remember passing what should have been the next major landmark. My routine had become unroutine.

I decided to turn around at the next intersection, and head back to find my route. As it turned out, I had flown by what should have been my next turn and continued beyond by about two miles, where I finally came to my senses. I was able to get back on my route, and, paying close attention this time, get us to work safely.

During the last part of my drive, I considered the routine nature of life. It doesn’t have to be that way. We can intentionally vary the way we do things, the way we approach things, the routes we take daily. I can intentionally interact with people I might otherwise let go by (routinely). I might rearrange things on my desk rather than let everything sit where it is (routinely).

Then I began to think of my spiritual life. Has it become only a routine? Do I go to church as a routine? Or do I go intending to praise, share and receive? Is my prayer life routine to the point that I continue to pray for overseas missionaries, even though those folks returned to the States several years ago? Do I read the Bible as a routine, or do I attempt to put myself into the passage, trying to make it come alive in my mind?

I’m going to start doing a few things to try to break the routine. I will intentionally interact with a co-worker daily on a spiritual basis. I know enough of them who’ve got heavy loads. A word of encouragement and cheer to help break the monotony of their routines, that will be step one. As I drive, instead of letting my mind wander, I’m going to start praying for the people in the houses we pass. And I’m going to make sure I ask the Lord to direct me to someone in need daily. That will surely break the routine. If your life is routine, maybe you can think of some things to change, too.

Have we been at this intersection before? I don’t recall that blue house with yellow shutters!

Dr. G
(and, yes, I know the word "thinking" is misspelled in the title)