Life can be routine.

Have you noticed that we do stuff over and over? I was getting ready for bed and thought – I’ve done this before. In pretty much the same sequence. For a really long time. Over and over.

A lot of life is pretty routine.

Work can become routine. Even though there are new things, we often repeat a pattern. There are factory workers that literally do the same thing all the time day after day. But most of us have a weekly or monthly or annual arrangement that becomes repetitive.

Some like the routine of the routine. I have some Roman Catholic or even Lutheran friends that like the predictability of worship. They find comfort in the rote prayers or predictable liturgies. Heard there are people that eat the same thing on a particular day of the week.

Right now, most of us are in very expectable routines. Many of us are working from home and we aren’t able to get out much. We take great joy in a Starbucks run or the sound of the mail truck. An unexpected email or text brings excitement. Our noses are pressed to the window hoping something interesting will pass by.

But there have been some good things about our routine:
– Our family has begun weekly Zoom calls with our parents. We, as siblings, have connected more this past month than the last year.
– We’ve scheduled video beers and chats with friends.
– I’m in a Zoom Bible study that has grown to a dozen men. We had trouble getting four or five to show up previously. It seems there’s less competition for our time now and we can attend the group in our sweatpants.
– We’re discovering that we can actually cook meals for two. Ok, my wife is discovering that and I’m discovering that she uses every utensil in our kitchen, when I wash dishes afterwards.
– We’re reading more.
– We’re sitting in the sunshine more.
– I’ve been biking and walking more.
– I’m more diligent about my morning devotions.

One day all this will subside.
We’ll return to our old routines.
And then those routines will become routine.