I think it’s amazing how quickly we fall into ruts and routines. How quickly we become comfortable with what was completely foreign to us only 26 days before. I’ve only lived in this house for four years, but it feels like I’ve been here forever. I’ve only been meal prepping for four weeks, but it feels like a natural part of a Sunday afternoon. Get out the countertop grill and cook the ground turkey into burgers and grill the chicken breasts for the week while peeling and chopping the carrots into sticks and making a large bowl of salad. Try out a new cookie recipe while hardboiling eggs and making a batch of raspberry jam. Then make the salad dressing while heating up today’s supper and washing the dishes.

Then I head downstairs for a couple of episodes of the classic Dr. Who before blogging and bedtime. Sometimes I mix it up a little by writing lesson plans. Usually I spend some time coloring.

I know. Crazy exciting, right?

Once I sit down on that couch in the evening, I’m not getting up again until it’s time to drag myself to bed. So I try to get as much done as I can before I sit down. Then, when I do finally drag myself to bed, it’s with a book. Currently, I’m reading the second book in the Mitford Years series by Jan Karon, and I’m loving it! A light-hearted read, that reminds me a bit of Anne of Green Gables, and leaves me feeling peaceful and content. Of course, I’m also in the middle of a Star Trek book. And a non-fiction book on archeology. And… Well, I’ve found it’s best to have a book at hand for every mood. And I love reading in bed. I set my alarm for a half an hour before I need to get up in the morning so that I can read another chapter before I get up and walk on the treadmill, too.

I love the rut I’ve fallen into. My safe, fun, comfortable rut.

But there’s a down side to getting comfortable. To falling into a rut.

I find myself becoming resistant to changes – even though it was a change that got me here only 26 days ago. When I grow comfortable, I stop looking for ways to get better. And, even worse, I run the risk of seeing friends and family members as intrusions. And, possibly even worse than that, when I get too comfortable in this world, I stop focusing on the world still to come. When I feel like I’m at home here, I forget that I’m not really home yet.

Now I don’t want to give the impression that I believe God wants us all to be miserable here and now. Because He doesn’t. He loves us indescribably and He wants us to be happy and experience a deep abiding joy in each moment. But at the same time, He asks us to hold that joy loosely. To hold all of our stuff loosely. To hold our comfort loosely.

Enjoy it – but don’t expect it. Don’t demand it. Don’t value it more than the people around you. And don’t get stuck in a deep but comfortable rut with no way out.

I pray that you enjoy your life. That you laugh often and are surrounded by family and comfort. But I also pray that your eyes are open to the teachable moments and divine opportunities of life. That you’re willing to make the hard choices that may benefit someone else to your own discomfort. Or that may feel like a step backward professionally and financially, but are actually a step forward into His kingdom. I pray that you know the Father, that you know you are His cherished child, and that you never get stuck in a comfortable rut.