Lately I’ve been feeling lost in a sea of things to do and see. At the end of each day I am exhausted and a bit down. Oh! Don’t get me wrong, I get a lot done and most of the time the tasks that need to be done get done on time. Err… or should I say in the nick of time. (smile) This past week, on the long drive down to South Florida, it struck me. “Habits! That is what I am missing…” I muttered. “The good, bad, indifferent, fun, boring, and/or necessary habits are all gone! How can I have no habits? Is that possible?” I didn’t know. All I know is that all the habits are broken.

The next morning I sat with my first morning cup of coffee and ask the Lord about this situation; ‘Can someone break their habits? all of them? The good and bad habits alike?’ Thinking back over the last few months, I can find no patterns in my days. Some days I start the day at a run, barely grabbing a to-go cup of coffee. Other days take me hours to wake up and I don’t want coffee at all. Most of the time I just figure out what needs to be done next and do that until the day was over.

I still pray but there is no pattern, no study. I pray or read a devotion anytime I think of something during the day. I stopped going to church and mainly catch online services. Lists are a thing of the past. For a while planning was a waste of time since something changed the plan by the hour.

In my search for answers, I found that even Daniel had habits.

“And Daniel, when he hath known that the writing is signed, hath gone up to his house, and the window being opened for him, in his upper chamber, over-against Jerusalem, three times in a day he is kneeling on his knees, and praying, and confessing before his God, because that he was doing [it] before this.”

(Daniel 6:10 YLT)¹

Daniel was an advisor to kings and faithful to God. This shows his attention to detail. To me this means habits are important to our well being, relationships and responsibilities. It also gives me an example showing the importance of daily time with God.

I find this an interesting spot to be in. Right now, I take each day as it comes and handle as much as I can before falling into exhausted sleep. I wake the next day grateful for more time to move forward, yet still trying to grasp what I might have missed that needs doing “right away!” My life has become reactionary. For the first time in my life, I am living only in the present.

Many times I’ve wanted to live in the present. I have written about living in the shadows of the past and the hope of the future. Years ago, rehashing the past and daydreaming didn’t get me anywhere on the adventure journey. They helped define what I wanted. But, staying in the future or the past did not set me into motion towards the dream.

Now, I stand in the present and let myself feel for a moment. To tell you the truth, it feels stressful. The present demands action and decisions. There is not time to think, write, or dream. Things are off kilter. Sooo, what do I do now? I miss my habits. All action with no context causes me to lose focus on what is important. I need all three, future, past and present, to balance this dream God is creating for me.

But, I have an opportunity I never recognized before. It is not about breaking old habits or learning good habits. It is about choosing what I will do long term and setting the time to do it. Just like Daniel I must choose what to leave behind and what habits are truly important. God always gives us the choice of our own free will. Daniel choose his daily time with God over the king’s order. Choosing wisely depends on what is important for the long term and choosing to make it a habit.

The habits I miss the most are my prayer/study time and writing. I have done very little study and writing since November. These are the first habit I choose to implement. Here is what I choose today:

In the mornings, I will continue to pray every day and finish a deep devotional given to me by a friend in October. It is “” by —. And I will write every day, including writing for my blog. My plan is to reestablish praying before I write, and to post weekly on Wednesday or Thursday. This is the start of my collection of habits.

Will you join me in starting with a clean slate and determining what needs to be done daily to follow God’s call? It is a radical way of looking at our habits. This is a choice not a requirement. I’m sure I’ll be writing about this path of habits over the next several months. Add your comments and see where God leads us from here.

Heavenly Father, Help us slow down enough to pick and choose our habits wisely. Bless us with Your Wisdom and Grace as we choose the best way to order our days. In Jesus’ name amen! In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen!

May the Lord bless you today,

Milly.

Footnotes:

¹Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) by Public Domain

P.S: You can find MillyReally on GETTR at: https://gettr.com/user/millyreally or @MillyReally on GETTR.