Whether we like it or not, all of us are creatures of habit. We have our schedules, our routines — and I find myself continually surprised at how much summer throws them off. Kids are out of school, activities multiply, vacations happen, family visits. Life gets looser.
And it’s easy, in that looseness, to think the spiritual life gets put on pause too. That our faith, like everything else, takes a vacation.
I’ve been thinking about two things lately that push back on that.
The first is discipline outside of routine. We tend to default to an all-or-nothing mentality when we travel or step out of our normal schedule. No workout because we’re on vacation. No prayer because we’re not home. But a short, improvised workout is a lot different than no workout at all. The same is true for prayer. We might not get through our normal routine, but there’s almost always something we can do — even something small. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good.
The second is what being thrown off our routine actually reveals about us. When the structure disappears, the stakes seem to rise. Things that weren’t difficult become burdensome. For my own family this summer, Vacation Bible School has meant getting out the door at a certain time — and that added pressure has had downstream effects on the kids, on my patience, on my reactions. I haven’t always handled it well.
Which is why this quote from St. Francis de Sales hits home:
“Bees live and feed on bitter food when making their honey: in the same way, we can never practice gentleness and patience or produce honey from such excellent virtues more surely than when eating the bread of bitterness and living in the midst of afflictions.”
There is a little bitterness that comes with the sweetness of growing in virtue. The disruption of summer — the pressure, the impatience, the moments we’re not proud of — those aren’t obstacles to growth. They’re the conditions for it. The opportunity to grow closer to God doesn’t disappear when our routine does. It’s up to us not to write it off.
Reflections by:
Mark Quaranta
Mark Quaranta’s daily reflections, formerly known as Summons, are now The Victor’s Crown. Subscribe for free at TheVictorsCrown.com. Paid subscriptions support the work and unlock premium content. Explore Mark’s prayer journals at PrayOnPaper.com.