Creatures of Habit*
No matter how
dreary the weather, it seems like the sun makes an appearance through our
west-facing kitchen window almost every afternoon before disappearing into a
canopy of trees and shrubs. Perhaps getting a clue from the setting sun, a
chipmunk has been climbing up a tree directly across from that same window
where he sits on a stump of a branch eating pinecones from a hidden stash in
the snow.
After digging
around and uncovering a cone, he’ll hold it in his mouth and scamper back up to
his perch. With a paw at each end of the
cone, he proceeds to chew feverishly, eating the seeds and spitting out the rest
in a spray. His furry tail, curled up over his head to keep it
Watching the
little chipmunk reminds me of the way my dad used to eat corn on the cob!
Holding the cob in both hands, he’d work his way from one row to another, occasionally
stopping to grin at us.
“Oh Dad,” we’d all
groan, looking at the corn stuck between his teeth. “That’s gross!”
Our hungry little visitor usually stays for
about a half hour or longer, only leaving the tree to find another pinecone.
He’s certainly a creature of habit, arriving every afternoon around 4:00!
TJ our lab is also
a creature of habit, due to the daily routine I’ve set for him. Now he expects
things to happen at their prescribed time and in the same way. Changes to the
routine are bewildering to him.
Because I haven’t
been feeling well this past week, taking him out for a walk hasn’t been a good
option. What sad glances he throws my way when the clock approaches the time we
usually go walking. How does he know?
When our friend,
Jim, called and kindly offered to take TJ around the block, I didn’t hesitate
to accept .TJ was delighted when I got his leash and harness, prancing around
me with joy. After I handing Jim the leash, I hurriedly went back into the
house, wanting to stay warm.
Later Jim texted, “For the first 100 yards, TJ
kept looking back for you. Cute.”
No one had
explained the change to TJ, who must have been perplexed. Hard to walk forward
when facing backward.
It had been almost five years since TJ and his
brother, Teddy, were exercised by others while I recuperated from a broken hip.
After I was cleared to take them out walking again, we hardly ever missed a
day. Since Teddy’s passing in July, TJ and I have bonded together so that he always
wants to be by my side. He certainly is a creature of habit…but then so am I!
We all have set
patterns of behavior to which we have become accustomed, like ways of
organizing our lives which make things easier. Some have been established since
childhood; others are picked up along the way.
Think about our
New Year’s resolutions. Old habits can prevent us from following through with
them. New habits can give success by supporting those resolutions. There are
bad habits that pull us away from God and good habits that help us become all
that He wants us to be.
Besides behavioral
habits, some patterns of thinking that create problems in our relationship with
Him are 1) believing that we have to earn God’s favor and 2) that His gifts and
blessings are the reward for something good we have done. Such thinking is
focused around self, ignoring the role of God’s grace and goodness in our lives.
So how can we even become aware of, let alone change, deeply ingrained habits? It happens through the working of the Holy Spirit as we surrender our lives to God each day. The apostle Paul wrote, “I want to know Christ…”
May that be our overwhelming
desire and determination as we enter this new year.
*From quote by
Edgar Rice Burroughs
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