Last week we had a two-day drive at the beginning of the week to pick up our grandchildren to bring them here and then I had a two-day drive at the end of the week to take them back. Lots of hours on the road. Most of those hours were made by using a wonderful blessing called cruise control. It is an amazing device that allows the driver to stay in a set speed by giving the control to the car while taking the foot off the petal. Thus, the destination is reached with little effort and supposedly less stress. But there is a down side: it is easy to fall into the habit of unintentional driving assuming the car is in control. Many miles can pass without our focused attention of a single car we may have passed.
Each of our families have a destination on this road called Life. Every day can seem like mile after mile of the same road. We may find ourselves on cruise control, having given up the control to Time. Schedules, routines, and habits seem to swallow up the hours of each day and before you know it, it’s summer and your children will soon be in another grade at school. In fact, summer is almost over. Time keeps going but who is in control? Is life happening to us or are we making life happen?
Every hour of every day in our families is vital. Wishing that there was more time to work on relationships or teach the children or have a meal together is not going to get it done. The cruise control must come off so that our lives are not spent living our intentions. Since insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results – change one small thing at a time and regain the control. Spend one hour this week encouraging your spouse. Bring a special surprise to one of your children and laugh with them. Devote one evening to praying as a family and read a verse together. It is in the new tiny habits that make every day count in the lives of our family members. Cruise control may make a car journey easier, but it will not make a faith journey reach the right destination.
In Psalm 90:12 the writer requests of God: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom”. It is estimated that there are approximately 936 weeks from the time a baby is born until they move on from the family setting. This week will be one less in the life of our children to help them grow faith. Let us make it a good week for all of us to gain hearts of wisdom and grow in faith.