I wrote a few weeks ago about how I like to be able to establish a routine. I’ve taken some steps toward doing that, and I think that I now know what my routine here will look like. The trouble is that things keep happening to keep me from actually enjoying the routine that I think I’m going to establish.
One of the things that’s happened is that Wanda has come down with iritis. This is an inflammation of the iris of the eye. She’s had it numerous times in her life, and while it’s serious in the sense that it can lead to blindness if it’s not treated, and while it’s painful and causes temporary vision problems while you have it, the good news is that it is treatable and can be handled with no lasting effects. The main thing about it is that you have to jump on it early and hard, so Wanda’s treatment has involved numerous trips to Pierre and one to Rapid City. I’m happy to take her to these appointments, but still, it takes me out of my routine.
Other things have happened to take me out of my routine as well. The Gettysburg church had Vacation Bible School last week. I’ve had hospital visits to make. I have a regional ministry team meeting in Cresbard today, and a graveside service to do tomorrow. There are various issues going on in the parish that have required my attention. None of these is a bad thing; in fact, they’re all just a part of ministry. The point, though, is that they are not regular things. They take me out of my routine.
I’ve noticed, though, that being taken out of my routine does not bother me nearly as much as it used to. That’s not to say that it does not bother me at all, but I used to get into a near-panic if my schedule was disrupted too much. I’d get somewhat frantic, wondering how in the world I was going to get everything done. Now, I’m handling these disruptions much better, and I started thinking about why.
I think there are at least a couple of things going on here. One is that I’ve come to realize that one of the clichés that veteran pastors have told me is actually true: quite often, the ministry is in the interruptions. The things that I’ve done when I’ve been “interrupted” have often been much more important than the things I’d planned to do. It’s rather humbling to realize how unimportant God considers my schedule to be, but when I try to keep to God’s schedule, rather than my own, I usually accomplish a lot more for God.
The other thing going on is that I’ve come to realize that God will provide me with enough time to get done all the things I really need to get done. I started really noticing that when I was in seminary. I’d have a long list of things I needed to get done for school, plus things I needed to get done for my work and for my church, and I’d think, “I’ll never be able to get that done.” Yet, somehow, I always would. A project wouldn’t take as long as I thought it would, someone would volunteer to do something I’d thought I was going to have to do, a deadline would be extended, and somehow, there was always just enough time to get it all done. God has done that for me so many times in the past that I’ve begun to trust that God will continue to do it in the future.
It’s okay to like a routine and a schedule, but it’s more important to follow God’s schedule. After all, our faith should never get to be routine. It should be an amazing, wonderful, joy-filled thing that we feel honored to experience every day of our lives.
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