routine

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
— Galatians 6:9 (NIV)
 
I have talked before about the old Dunkin’ Donuts commercial back in the 1980s where a sleepy guy would drag himself out of bed at something like 2:00 in the morning saying, “Time to make the donuts.” The commercial would show him doing the same thing day after day — getting up, making donuts, coming home, sleeping, and repeating the cycle over and over until eventually he passed himself coming and going. 
Honestly…sometimes life feels like that.
My husband and I were doing one of those random internet couple quizzes on a long drive the other day, and one question asked what chore we hated the most. His answer was the chores that you have to do and then undo repeatedly — like holiday decorations. You spend hours putting everything up, only to turn around a few weeks later and pack it all back down again.
For me, it’s the “redo” chores: Laundry, dishes, vacuuming, cleaning things that somehow immediately become dirty again.
You wash the clothes so everyone can wear them and put them back into the dirty laundry pile. You wash dishes so people can eat and make more dishes. Sometimes it feels like life is just one endless loop of redoing the same tasks over and over.
Routine can be comforting…but sometimes routine feels heavy.
Especially when you live with chronic pain or exhaustion and still have to keep showing up anyway. Fibromyalgia is no joke, y’all. Some days even simple tasks feel bigger than they should.
And fostering kittens? Oh, the joy is real. Watching tiny kittens play, grow, and learn to trust people is one of the sweetest things ever. But the cleanup? Endless. Food bowls, litter boxes, blankets, messes…repeat forever. 
But here’s the thing: even the repetitive work has purpose.
The laundry means we have clothes to wear.
The dishes mean people gathered to eat together.
The decorations mean memories were made.
The kitten mess means little lives were saved and loved.
The routines we sometimes dread are often evidence of blessings we once prayed for.
Galatians reminds us not to grow weary in doing good. That doesn’t mean we won’t get tired. It simply means the work still matters, even when it feels repetitive or unnoticed.
Sometimes the holiest things we do are not flashy at all. Sometimes faithfulness looks like folding laundry, feeding kittens, showing up to work, or taking care of people while quietly carrying our own struggles.
God sees every unseen act of love.
Even the redo’s.
 
#dailybreadbykitty
Daily Inspiration from the Bible