I Hate a Rut

What day is this?

I get up each day and say out loud, “Today is Monday,” or, “Today is Friday,” whatever day it is. I started this a few years ago. It’s not only a proclamation. If it’s the wrong day my wife corrects me immediately!

I’m back at work as a pastor. During the time of “shelter in place” because of the coronavirus pandemic, days ran together. My wife and I would be at home or out working in the yard, each day similar to the last. I like having a good framework for the hours of the day, but that came to be more a rut than a groove.

Now that I’ve stepped into being a pastor again, after a year of retirement, the day of the week has great bearing on what I do. I love that, but I’m wary of falling into a rut. Routine can be blinding. Putting life on autopilot dulls the senses.

I want to see each person- to-person encounter as special, really hearing what the other person has to say. I want each sermon to be words I heard from God, not just a composition of my own artistry. Each prayer I pray for a person facing surgery should be today’s prayer, not something I’ve pretty much said before with a name changed.

”Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

God continues to be our Creator. My daily routine can be a barrier to new things Christ would do through me.

Lord, help me be available to you!