Creatures of Habit

It's said that old habits die hard, but frankly new habits die hard, too. This was never made more obvious to Brad and I then when I recently moved a garbage can to a different location in our new home. We've not lived in this house a month yet, so we're still figuring out where we want to put things. Originally I had put our 13-gallon garbage can in our breakfast nook around the counter from the kitchen. Then a few days ago, I got the idea to put a smaller can closer and handier underneath the kitchen sink. I moved the bigger can in the breakfast nook to a far corner, to still have it available if needed. However, since we'd been throwing away garbage to the original location, Brad and I found ourselves going back to that area over and over again ... after it had only been there two weeks. It was a similar situation with our refrigerator. While waiting for a new fridge to arrive, we were using the old fridge which had been relocated to the laundry room. Even after the new refrigerator was in place, we found ourselves still walking the gallon of milk back to the laundry room fridge a good five days later. We are definitely creatures of habit. And how quickly we can instill those habits.

That being said, I found myself quite easily breaking a habit I had prior to the move: my devotion time. I like to spend the first part of my morning in Bible reading and prayer whether silently or through journaling. When we moved last month, with all the different things that needed done - unpacking, rearranging, cleaning, etc. - I found that I neglected my devotion time. I went right to the jobs and ignored that time with my Lord. I might say, "I'll get to it," but then never did. The Lord doesn't like it when I neglect that time, so he started waking me at 2 or 3 a.m. If I won't set aside time for Him, then He'll make so I have to. So in the middle of the night I was reading Scripture and praying. That's not a bad thing. I cherish those times with God (some great learning was done), but I still wasn't making room for Him myself. Then I started getting sick every morning. Allergies. They would wipe me out, not just in the morning, but all day. This morning I woke up and started to go about the day's work and began my usual early repetitive sneezing, In exasperation, I said to myself, "Everything can wait." I stopped what I was doing, grabbed my Bible and journal and found a cozy quiet place to sit.

I'm in the middle of the book of Daniel, so was reading Daniel 4 about Babylon King Nebuchadnezzar's crazy dream about a mighty tree, cut to the ground, stripped of its leaves and fruit scattered. Daniel interprets the dream for the king telling him it's actually about Lord driving Nebuchadnezzar from his throne for a bit, even to the point of madness, until he acknowledges that God is the Most High. Daniel gives the king this advice: "Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue." (Daniel 4:27) Rather than heed the advice, the king, just 12 months later, heralds his own mighty power and glory. Oops! So of course the dream comes true. The king becomes animalistic, eating grass like cattle, his hair thinning like feathers and his nails growing like claws. Creepy. Seven years later, he acknowledges and praises the Most High God and his kingdom is restored.

What a wake up call for me! I'm not a king, nor have a built a great city. I'm not eating grass, losing hair or growing scary claws. But the Lord was certainly getting my attention. I think the Lord gave me a little leeway with the busyness of the move, but that time is over. GOD COMES FIRST. He always does. I had created a new habit of ignoring my Father, and was suffering for it. The suffering can manifest itself in different ways, from loss of direction, loss of time and stumbling over road blocks during the day to even more grave issues, especially if making wrong decisions when not focused on the Father.

And when I do set that time aside for Him, it's so glorious! I delight in who He is! I confess and rid myself of sins! I learn something! I lift many others to Him for interaction and healing! I thank Him for the many blessings and challenges in His fine-tuning and pruning. Gosh, I missed that.

I've read it takes just 14 days to create a new habit, so I will be making a conscious effort to sit down with my Lord every morning. And soon hope that instead of looking at my unused Bible and saying, "I'll get to it," will instead say, "Everything can wait. It's time for my Jesus."

We're still not quite used to where the new garbage can is - Brad will walk over there and let out an "arrrrggg" when we realizes he's walked to the other place - but we'll get there. The new location is more efficient and smarter ... just like the devotion time habit I'm working on.

Unseen Enemy

I am tired. Of sneezing that is. I have been having allergy reaction after allergy reaction since we moved into our new home. As I am allergic to dust, pollen, grass, pine, etc, it can be hard to narrow down what the culprit could be, but more than likely it's cat dander. These reactions have all the usual cat-dander symptoms. The former resident had a cat, and once those microscopic skin cells hit the air, it's hard to rid a location of them. Rip out the carpet, paint the walls, wipe down all surfaces, vacuum under appliances, change filters and clean out air ducts ... these are all recommended. And it still could take six months to get it all out. I'm in for a long road. Some days are worse then others. And you know it's bad when I will go outside to cut the grass in a effort to get out of the cat-dander house.

It's an unfair battle. I can't see the enemy. I can only feel the consequences. It's a daily struggle. It's exhausts me. As a very last resort, I'll take some kind of allergy medication, which typically knocks me out for the rest of the day. No matter what I seem to do, I can't get the upper hand. I shout "Unfair!" into the air and plow through boxes of tissues.

I have friends and family who are dealing with far worse unseen enemies in the form of diseases like cancer. And I am sure they have shouted, "Unfair!" many times.

But even that is not the most evil unseen enemy. There is one far worse. One that prowls the earth like a roaring lion waiting to devour us, the disciple Peter tells us in his first letter, chapter 5, verse 8. He calls the enemy, "Your adversary, the devil." He is one that hopes to derail our faith and make us want to give up. And this enemy actually uses some of the previously mentioned unseen enemies to aid in his derailing. What is Peter's advice to combat this enemy? "Stay alert, be sober, stay viligant, watch out." He also says, "resist him and be steadfast in your faith" in the next verse. So more preventative than combative, just like all the preventative things recommended to remove the cat-dander from this house.

Does this mean you'll avoid all entanglements with the adversary? Probably not, but it will certainly help reduce the confrontations. Other great preventative measures? Prayer, reading Scripture, and submitting ourselves to God. And if Christ's example in Matthew 4:10 is one to follow, then saying, "Be gone, Satan," doesn't hurt either.

Day after day of struggling against an unseen enemy can make a person want to give up, but those who are successful aren't quitters. Plus we have an Advocate who can fight for us who is far more powerful, and it's to Him I turn daily. Prior to 1 Peter 5:8, the disciple tells us,"cast your burdens on Jesus because He cares for you." So it's to Him I turn to for help with an adversary that refuses to back down ... and allergies that just won't let go. These battles are temporary. Christ has the final victory. So armor up ...while I grab another tissue.