So many times in life we take the familiar path. There might be several ways to get from point A to point B, but we get habituated into a comfortable pattern and we rarely veer from the normal routine. There have been times when I arrive at my destination and realize that I don’t remember half of the trip. Really – that is a rather frightening thought. And yet, so often this is how we live our lives. Our days become routine. Our weeks become routine. Our months and years become routine. Our routines become routine.
This week at work I was given a writing task. Now – you all know I love to write. But this was academic writing – not my normal chatty writing, not songwriting. It was a challenge. It was “above my pay grade writing.” But I took the challenge and did the job. I think I did it fairly well. No complaints so far! At the end of the week, there was something I didn’t expect. A feeling of accomplishment. A sense that I had stretched my limits. My “normal” work is not easy. But I have been doing most of it for 8 ½ years. It is “old hat.”
So why do we let ourselves become lulled by life? I think many times it is perceived as safety. We know where we are. We don’t have to worry about getting off course. We do things by rote and don’t veer off the beaten path. This will keep us from losing our way. Or will it?
I believe that my God is active. He is living and moving and relevant. I am not saying that stability and steadfastness are not good things. They most definitely are. But if I am settled into my nice, normal, nifty routine – it might be because I fell asleep at the wheel and the missed voice telling me it was time to “turn right in four-tenths of a mile.”
When I don’t know where I’m going, I follow the voice of the GPS. When I am afraid of getting lost, I pay attention to the signs. It takes just a little bit more trust to get to your destination when you are not following the same old roads. “Jack the GPS guy” becomes a much closer companion when I need him to guide me through every bend in the road. So when God calls me out of the same old, same old – I rely less on myself and more on Him.
I want to use my GPS more. I am not afraid of the unfamiliar. I love to learn new things. I love overcoming obstacles. I love going to new places. I love meeting new people. Oh sure, it terrifies me. But terror is the fuel that keeps me from burning out half way there. I want to need the voice of my Father calling me from where I was to where He is taking me - one turn at a time.