For a brief moment today, I felt like I used my mind, and it felt good. I almost forgot what it felt like to think. Believe it or not, in this realm of education where I am supposed to be engaging my brain cells, I often feel I am the furthest from anything of the sort. As a college student, and even as an adult, my life has become one of routine. The way I answer questions, the way I approach homework and readings, the way I interact with other students, the way I research material…..it all seems to become routine and meaningless. Even out of the classroom, my life is full of routine. “Do you have any coupons?” and “Please select your method of payment” are now imprinted in my brain thanks to the check out machines at Kroger. I say “enjoy the show” with no thought at all when I work at the theater, finding that I often want to tell people to enjoy the show after they’ve ordered from me at Great Steak. And often times, in response to my good tidings to enjoy the movie, people almost mechanically answer “you too.” I have routine answers to every-day encounters. Even love becomes routine. We throw around the word and forget what it really means to love someone. We use it out of habit and obligation rather than out of sincerity.

I think this idea of routine parallels my spiritual life as well. The way I read the Bible, the way I approach God, the way I live my life…….Through routine, a lot of the meaning gets lost in the carefully woven patterns of my spiritual being. And, on the other end, sin and sinful ways of thinking become routine, too…..and I can forget what it means to “take thoughts captive” because it all becomes so ordinary and familiar. Routine can be a dangerous thing. It causes me to breeze through life and then look back and wonder where it all went…..what did I do today? Where did time go? It all went to my routines, leaving me without a whole lot of meaning in my life. It deadens my heart and dulls my soul…..

I think it’s about time for me to step out and do some personal and spiritual routine-breaking. I'm tired of missing out on what God is offering me......