Schedule and Routine Have Their Place

In the last year or two, I’ve learned more and more how to not be a slave to my schedule. You see, I’m a very organized person and I don’t always like “spontaneous.” Which seems ironic since I married a spontaneous spouse. But no, I like things planned out and well-thought out.  I like to know what to expect and how to prepare. Which is okay for the most part. That’s how God created me after all.

I began to see a problem in my own life when I wasn’t able to be flexible to things that came along. Life IS spontaneous. You can’t plan for that late-night hospital visit or the friends who invite you out after church.  I was getting too stressed when things would change. I believe that if and when possible, everyone should plan ahead. It’s easier on everyone involved and helps no one feel overwhelmed. But when things can’t be planned out or the unexpected happens, I think we need to learn to drop our schedules and “go with the flow.”

Someone made the comment to me once that Jesus was always interrupted when He was on earth. I had never really given that matter much thought, but when I did, I found out that they were absolutely correct! He was constantly interrupted and He handled it with love and grace. Sure, there were times where He needed to get away to rest and pray because He was tired. As should we. But on the whole? On the whole, He welcomed others because He loved them.

I think we need to be careful when our schedules and our routines become like a god in our lives. We become a slave to them where everything is rigid and structured. We can’t deviate from the “plan.” I think that should set off red flags and alarm bells because there is so much in life that is unstructured and unplanned. You just can’t always prepare for it. In fact, I’ve often found that God works best in the unplanned. I think my God is a God of adventure. He loves to take us by surprise at times because maybe He knows if we knew what was coming we would either run or come up with all sorts of responses and excuses. No, He often likes to throw things at us because that’s the only way sometimes that we will learn, grow, lean on Him, or take a risk that will change our life or someone else’s.

I don’t want my life to become about rules, regulation, have to’s, and must’s. No, that would limit my life and how I allowed God to work in it. Instead, I want to do the best I can with my time and what I’ve been given. Then, when the unexpected happens, I want to be as flexible as possible with the situation. There would be so many blessings, lessons, and memories lost if I had shut these out of my life altogether in the name of “routine” and “schedule.”

I still like to have a daily routine. But I’ve learned that routine has its place. And I try to keep it there.