Routine

It was one of those mornings.  You know them well, when the normal routine is replaced with a different schedule.  Dad has to leave early so mom gets the boys ready to drop off to summer camp/day care while attempting to leave at the usual time.  Top that with a not so normal night with a sleepless, crying baby and two hours less sleep for mom!

Routine.  Upset the routine and it shakes us all up.  At prayer group on Tuesday we actually prayed to have our routines shaken up, our ordinary day become extraordinary and the normal be abnormal.  WHY?

Routine dulls the senses, makes us comfortable, we are less observant, we don't question why we do things or what we are doing, we become complacent, things are familiar...
You add your own observations about routine.  Is it bad to have routine?  Absolutely not, it is necessary if we are to go about our day, accomplishing our job, making it through.  However, it is good for the routine to get shaken because it DOES make us question things, wakes us up, makes us more aware of what we are doing and WHY!

This morning several things made my rocking reflection for baby's nap focus on MY job, MY routine.  One was a response from my daughter on an offer to help; "it is not your job."  Granted.  Another was a response from my grandson when he was attempting to communicate to his mom and I offered an answer; "I am not talking to you, GG.".  An apology was give for the tone but the response in both cases was right on (after reflection and I took ME out of the equation).

What is my job?  It is NOT to offer help when help might intercept God's teaching and care for another person.  Being sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit will guide when help is necessary and when it is interference.  It is NOT my job to get in the middle of another's communication with unasked for advice.  It IS my job to LISTEN, first to the voice of God through the Holy Spirit and second to the voices around me so that I will ask God continually for discernment in how and what to pray and/or speak.

  Bottom line, shake up my routine, O God my Father, so I will focus on my job.  First and foremost it is to love You, the One God, with all my heart and all my soul and all my might and as my Lord Jesus added His command, to love my neighbor (every human) as myself.
Deuteronomy 6:1-9, Leviticus 19:18,
Matthew 22: 34-40, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10-25-37, I John 5:1-4