These last couple of days have been challenging. There has been a lot going on. I have been running my cars here and there trying to get them serviced. I have been working with the contractor that is remodeling our upstairs washroom and trying to make sure that all details are in place. With that we have had to move everything out of the washroom upstairs into various places around the house while we have a useless washroom. Our house is in transition having moved two students back in and preparing to move one back out. I have had trouble finding any sort of routine to my days. It is hard for me to accomplish much of anything without routine!
OK really, who am I kidding? It hasn’t been just the last couple of days that have me turned inside out without a routine. The last two years have knocked me out of the any sort of regular routine. It has been hard to get it back and it shows in my productivity, my stress levels and my mental health. One week of a broken routine can be hard enough, but two years can be really hard to reinstate good habits and routines. However, since the world has changed substantially over the last couple of years, getting THAT routine back probably isn’t the answer. Yet, finding a new routine is necessary – for all of us!
Here is why: “Routines are essential at every stage of life—from childhood and adolescence to adulthood” writes Dr. Brad Benner, Ph.D., on his blog. “They help us cope with change, create healthy habits, improve interpersonal relationships, and reduce stress. Studies have shown that daily routines have far-reaching mental health benefits, from
alleviating bipolar disorder and
preventing substance abuse to managing the symptoms of other mental disorders.”
Obviously, routines are key for our psychological health and can make a difference in our physical health. Getting thirty minutes of vigorous exercise each day can be life changing. Eating right changes not only our bodies but our brains! Relationally we know that routine can keep us connected better than the “we will see you when we see you!” A regular date night with your spouse, Sunday dinners with your kids’ families, that weekly phone call with your mom, the yearly golf or shopping trip all keep you connected with people. These are routines that nurture our relational health.
The scriptures tell us that routine in our spiritual life is important, too. The very first chapter of the Bible sets up a rhythm for living that has become a routine for people, and that has nurtured people’s spiritual health for years! The Old Testament description of creation in six days with God resting on the seventh created a rhythm that became a part of Hebrew law: “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in plowing time and in harvest time you shall rest” (Exodus 34:21, NRSV). Daily worship was an early Christian routine, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:46, NIV). These are routines that we have mostly shied away from in the evangelical world in place of Sunday morning worship and daily quiet times. But these are routines that we can be quite helpful, too.
What we must realize is the importance of routine not only in our physical and psychological life, but in our spiritual life as well. It might not look exactly like it did two or three yeas ago, but we need to find a routine that can help us. I brush my teeth twice every day (although to be honest I missed that a couple of times this week). I have gotten the Wordle correct for 99 straight days. There are not many days that I don’t go to Facebook to wish friends a happy birthday. But I know I need to establish some better routines in my spiritual, physical and relational life as well. I need to get better rhythm in my vocational life, too, if I want to get the things done that I need to get done. My rhythms with friends and families could use a recalibration, too.
How about you? What happens if you examine your routines?
- Are you caring for yourself physically on a regular basis?
- Do you have a regular pattern for nurturing your relationship with God?
- Have you established the kind of routines that help you succeed at your job, or do you need to recalibrate those?
- Are you gathering with God’s people weekly? How is your church attendance/engagement?
- What about your relationships? Would it help to establish a new routine for your relationship with your spouse, your kids, your friends?
The routines of the world have been shaken up. At least that is my experience. What about yours? Take some time this weekend to examine your routines? Remember they “help us cope with change, create healthy habits, improve interpersonal relationships, and reduce stress.” Routines are the trellis on which we build our health – and in the church we call these established routines a “Rule of Life.” Below is a document that can help you establish a Rule of Life? We have used this before; do you need to renew yours? Now is the time.
Let’s get these routines going together! It will only help us.
Crafting your Rule of Life Questions.docx[learn_press_profile]
