Joy In The Routine

I’m not sure when or how it happened, but I recently found myself in a quiet season. Following a busy and bustling summer of flip flops and sunscreen, the temperature began to drop, school started, and quickly I fell into my routine. I was surprised with how easily and comfortably my days regulated. And the days grew… quiet.

Suddenly the predictability worried me.

The excitement of vacations and extended sunshine was wearing away along with my tan lines. It seemed as though something was missing. Friend after friend was in the midst of a major life change - moving to a new city, wedding planning, a new job. And here I was in this unsurprising, unmoving chapter.

It took me a a few weeks to pinpoint my emotions, and when I’d finally taken time for self-reflection, I realized this was quiet contentment. Sure, it wasn’t filled with the most instagrammable days or wild adventures, which made me feel slightly flawed, I knew this season, too, was a gift.

I remembered the days, weeks and months from recent years. A college graduation, my parents’ divorce, three part time jobs, job application piles and subsequent rejection piles, first full time job, first apartment. There has been a run of seemingly never-ending valleys.

As I took the time to think on these various seasons, some with happiness and many with a soreness deep in my heart, I can only be thankful. Through it all, God has been faithful. Through the good seasons and the bad, the breaking and the building, the dramatic and the quiet, He has kept his promises. I have the job I once prayed for, the raise I fought for, the family I’ve asked for support from, the friendships I needed.

I look back and see that I’ve been brought through each and every valley. And although this current stretch of life is full of mundane to-do lists, I know there will be days or months in the future not as neat and tidy. In those times, I will remember that God has always taken me through the valleys, and the next one will be no different.

And because there are going to be times when we’re forgetful of the past or wrapped up in our own issues and stress, (let’s be real - who doesn’t get lost in their own thoughts) thankfully, God has written down His promises.

 ✱ ✱ ✱

5 verses to remember you’re exactly where you should be:

• Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
  - Hebrews 10:23
• Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
  - Romans 12:12
• The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
  - Lamentations 3:22-23
• And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
  - Philippians 1:6
• Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.
  - Deuteronomy 7:9

Allyson is an avid reader, writer, coffee drinker, and lover of Jesus.
She makes her home in the Greater Milwaukee area.