going through the motions

The other morning, I woke up exhausted and did not feel like following our schedule... at all. I did not honestly feel like exerting energy on anything, and I would have wasted the entire morning, I think. Thankfully, though, the kids know our routine, and they are such good accountability. When I said, "ok, kiddos, why don't you go play upstairs for a while?" Ivory replied - "but Mom, first we have to do jobs... and then we have to do school!" And so we did. We went through the motions, even though my heart was not in it at all. Ultimately, what would have been a lot of time lost forever ended up being a productive and happy day.

This has been, perhaps, the greatest benefit of our schedule this fall - it brings structure to our days and freedom to our off-days, even when I don't feel like it. And I started thinking that it's not unlike my faith. A friend and I sat on our back patio yesterday afternoon and talked about how we are both dealing with difficult unknowns in our lives. We talked about how these unknowns are no different than previous unknowns, and the steps are the same too: "Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." (Psalm 37:3-5). Even when we don't feel like it. 

 And so, while going through the motions isn't always sufficient, it is a known in the midst of an unknown... something to fall back on when I don't know what else to do. God has promised that "I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight..." (Isaiah 45:2) and so ultimately, all we really have to do is follow His routine. In the same way that I create a structured day to guide my children, He creates a pattern of life to guide me. And I know, because He has been faithful in the past, that what He has promised, He will do.

"And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the trees, and the increase of the field..." (Ezekiel 36:27-30)

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