THE SAME WAY HOME

 I am a creature of habit and, as I age, those habits grow stronger.

My calendar is a study in routine.  I have specific days of the week for specific activities.   Most days begin and end much the same.  Everything has an order and order creates routine.  As I have aged and my brain sometimes fails me, these routines and habits keep me headed in the right direction.  

 Who wants to spend hours looking for a car in a huge parking lot such as the airport?  I have learned to take a photo of the signs denoting where I have parked.  After a week of traveling, I would prefer to not search multiple lots for my transportation home.  Why, when I go to the grocery store or discount store, or my favorite the nursery, I park in specific rows --even if it means walking a long way.  The extra exercise will not hurt and it is better than walking up and down every row looking for where I mindlessly parked my car.  (I DO KNOW there is an alarm on your key for cases like this--that is another post for another day on why I hesitate to use that key).

Trips in my car also include routine.  I am stuck on traveling the short way home.  My smart phone not only knows where I am going but the route I take when headed out.  It will tell me how much time it should take.  I go to the Well by the same route and come home another but predictable route.  I go to the grocery store by the same route and park in the same row.  My friendly nursery and hardware store are a predictable journey.  I go into automatic pilot when I leave my house and some days can not tell you what I did or did not see on the way to and from. 

Good friend, Sheila, recently hiked part of the Appalachian trail.  This photo indicates it has become a beaten path.  A well worn path with thousands of foot prints keeping the path clear each year from late spring to late fall.  You would have to be blind to miss the path.  I think it is safe to say that most hikers do not venture far from the beaten path and are only seeing as far as the eye can see from the trail.  Trails such as this can get down right crowded and who knows what you are missing while traveling in heavy traffic.

Recently, for some strange reason, I was off my beaten path.  I passed by a new building which had not only been built and completed but was also open for business since I had traveled by the location.  This is not far off my path, and yet I missed the fact a new business was coming because I do not venture off the path very often.

What else am I missing by not changing up my routines?  With familiarity comes failure to observe.  There is a busy world all around us, but we may be failing to see some of the marvels of this life by staying in our ruts.  The rut gets deeper and deeper and soon we are so deep we can not see over the edge of the path and only know what is directly in front of us.  By staying in a routine we might be missing the joy of a new friend or the marvel of God's creation.

What if the disciple had not varied from his routine and refused to step out of the boat?  What if his lack of faith had caused him to miss the miracle of walking on the water?  What if he insisted upon taking the same way home and turned the boat toward shore?  What a wonder he would have missed, by refusing to take a step of faith and walk a new path toward Jesus.

Time to get off the beaten path and experience the wonders of the path less taken.   A single step in faith can lead to wonders beyond our wildest dreams.

"So Peter got out of the boat

and walked on the water

and came to Jesus."

Matthew 14:29