Sermonette: Oct. 31, 2022

As the temperature drops, and harvest wraps up, I start to want to cook again, to sleep a little later, and spend longer evenings inside. It’s also a time to anticipate the very long, very cold months ahead, and think about vacation. Warm vacation.

Goodness, I appreciate time away from the normal routines, time to make memories. But the older my kids get, the more I’m noticing that their memories have much more to do with routines, and normalcy, and how they felt in everyday life—the boring stuff.

Because let’s think about it: One week of vacation is 168 hours of a year. Often, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But the ten minutes spent checking in with our loved one, every single day for a year is 152 hours of a year. The five times per day we go in and out our front door—just think about how often that is!

Imagine if we are intentional about how we spend the boring routines of our everyday lives. What if we spent 20 minutes a day creating a routine that serves another person? Or we make a routine of smiling to greet a person, or give a quick compliment, or spend five minutes a week asking a new person how their day is going. The world, this town, would be a more comfortable, safer place.

Go on that winter vacation if that’s what you want to do; goodness knows that is good for the soul of many, many people. But as our seasons change, let’s be mindful of our routines. The things we do every day. This is where we spend the vast majority of our time. And it takes very small changes from lots of people to change the world.

Mark 12:33: “To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”