Do our routine choices really matter for the long term? Is the compound effect working with your daily choices? What about the routine choices you make, the ones you don’t even think about, you just do them. They are every bit as important as the choices you make that require thought.
We get up every day and go through life in routine mode. Roll out of bed, head to the bathroom, brush our teeth, then to the kitchen for coffee…etc. The evenings may look something like this…Dinner, dishes, TV, shower, bed. And in between is just as routine. My question is this: What routine choices, the ones you make by habit, are you making day in and day out that you need to change? What routine choices if you changed them would completely turn your life around?
I have had to take a hard look at my choices over the last few years. The things I thought would lead to a profitable business and an opportunity to serve in ministry to other women, were not working for me. This left me feeling somewhat defeated and struggling to know what to do next.
While reading through One Thousand Gifts Devotional by Ann Voskamp, this statement literally leapt off the page at me, “Life change is as simple as changing our choices…”. Wow! So to change something in my life, I simply need to change the choices I make. Sounds simple…right?
In theory it is, but in practical application, not so much. We are creatures of habit and changing our habits can be extremely difficult. Don’t believe me? Try eliminating sugar or caffeine from your diet. When we work to change our habits, to do better, to eliminate the things in our lives that are not serving us or others, we will most times face a battle.
And this is what I was facing, a full on battle. I had no doubt that I was to be serving women. I knew I was to serve in the area of purpose, calling, goal setting, etc. But the methods I had been told for years were the way to go about this were not working. I had lost my passion for my message and a change was needed, desperately.
So…what did I do? I first changed my daily choices by spending more time in my prayer chair, reading scripture and journaling what I was learning. I sought the Lord to find my next steps. I listened for the echoes of the Holy Spirit that I knew would lead me.
It’s a process and though not through it yet, I can now see glimpses of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. I know what God has promised me, and I can see a little clearer the fulfillment of that promise. Learning to not jump ahead and do it my way has been a great blessing. But also, making changes to my routine, my daily habits has helped.
I am listening more and doing what is laid on my heart. Let me caution you here though. Don’t just walk away from something you read or hear and feel you have a word from God. As the Bible says in, 1 John vs. 4 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” You do this by “bumping” it up against the scripture, praying about it and then if you still aren’t sure, seek Godly counsel.
Changing your choices can indeed change your life. Take just one habit that isn’t serving you right now and do something about it. Change it. Then see if over time your life doesn’t start to change.
With Purpose,
Cindy
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