Routine Monotony

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Wake up in the morning, go for a run, come home, shower, and eat breakfast. Leave for work, come home, eat lunch, check office duties off the list (such as invoicing for the morning's jobs), and take a little nap. Straighten up some things around the house, make dinner, spend time with the family, get ready for bed, watch TV, and go to sleep. Wake up, go for a run, come home, eat breakfast, and go to work. You get the idea. The monotonous days keep passing by and I find myself constantly looking forward to the next exciting event such as what my weekend plans may be, an upcoming holiday or planning for our summer vacation. Woohoo! 

When I'm alone listening to worship music, I can get really excited as I get caught up in the emotions. When I listen to a thought-provoking, bible-teaching podcast, I can get fired up to go live in my full purpose as God intended. As soon as I step out of my private space and back into the world of people surrounding me, it's so easy to lose that excitement and that sense of purpose. The mundane routine becomes something I just get through, sometimes without even feeling like an active participant. Galatians 6:9 (NIV) says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." How can we not "become weary" and overcome the tendency to simply fall back into our routine? To be honest, I'm not sure. I'm still seeking that answer. 

I was listening to the "Three of Seven Podcast" (Episode 399) on which Chadd was interviewing Zach Dasher. I will try my best to paraphrase accurately. Basically we, as Christians, look forward to our eternity in heaven as a reward that is yet to come. While doing that, we tend to "just get through" our days here on earth, missing the purpose that God created us for which is to give Him glory in all we do. It's difficult because we are called to be separate from this world but, at the same time, we do live in this world. It's easy to get lost in our monotonous schedules. What caught my attention is when Zach said (again, paraphrasing) when we become children of God, our eternity starts immediately. We do not need to wait for eternal life to begin, we are already living in eternity! (mind blown!!)

If we can begin to see this whole earthly existence as our warm-up for heaven where our sole purpose is to worship our Lord and Savior, I think we would begin to spend our time here on earth in a more meaningful way. If we are truly able to develop an eternal mindset and grasp the fact that all of this will one day pass away, we would not get so caught up in everyday troubles or trivial concerns. Perhaps we would find the joy in our mundane routines, avoid becoming weary, and reap the harvest of purpose that the God of the universe has created us for. Here's to carrying this through on Monday morning - and beyond!

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