I’m learning how I’m a creature of habit. I create habits that are generally helpful in
life, to my health, to me spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically. Sometimes the habits are so second nature
that you don’t even realize they’re there!
Simple habits of making breakfast – even what you eat for breakfast –
cooking in general, cleaning, going to work, reading before bed, playing music
in the house, where you put your keys…
But when you’re outside of the environment where you created
your habits, it’s easy for the habits to get lost in the midst of the new
environment. And when the environment
changed every couple of months (which has been my experience over the last year
and a half), it makes it very difficult to reform any habits. Where do you even start?
Habits contribute to stability (whether good or bad), but if
you’re essentially always on the road or somehow on the move, how do you create
that stability? The Lord has given me
the grace to connect with Him and find comfort and stability in Him, but He
provides in so many ways, and I’ve recently felt the need to have physical
stability, reform some habits, and feel “normal” again – He is even in those
things.
A few months ago, a friend of mine had a picture of a
cultivated garden where I could come for rest and refreshment so that I could
then go out to others to tend to their needs and bring refreshment to
them. But for myself, always needing to
go back to my own “garden” and place of refreshment. The pictures seems to speak to two things:
the more obvious secret place with the Lord and connecting with Him, receiving
from Him. But I’ve also always wanted a
home, that physically beautiful, comfortable, warm, inviting place that’s
refreshing and restful, and from there to go out, meeting with people and
caring for them – and then being able to come back to my safe, refreshing
place.
I didn’t even realize I so valued a bit of structure, order,
stability, and habits until they were gone!
And I do think having a physical place that’s comfortable, beautiful,
warm, inviting, in order, organized, etc can be a basis for that. It’s just a general sigh of relief. Sometimes I feel like I’m my own paradox – I
enjoy travel and I enjoy NOT traveling and being home. If I would have known that before, I probably
would have kept my duvet, duvet cover, decorative pillows, all my bedding, more
of my art and pictures, and a couple other things too! They weren’t quite as frivolous as I assumed
them to be.
But now I have a room that’s meeting needs for a nice,
comfortable place. So now on to
recreating habits that I had before - cooking, eating healthy (hello fruits and veggies!), getting up early, time with Jesus, exercise, reading before bed, having a place for my keys (I have keys!).
It’s made me think of the transient and houseless – situations even more
unstable than mine. How do they
cope? They may need a sense of stability
more than they realize. Ultimately that
stability is from God, but He may use us to help give stability in ways that
are much simpler than we realize – like simply being there every week at a
certain place and time. A small example
of God’s consistency and expression of the stability He wants to give. We may have the opportunity to be that
expression for a season in someone’s life.
