I am not a robot

Proverbs 4:26-27   (CEB)

Watch your feet on the way,

    and all your paths will be secure.

Don’t deviate a bit to the right or the left;

    turn your feet away from evil.

I don’t know about you, but I often find myself operating on auto-pilot.  Get up at 6ish, feed the cats, drink coffee, eat food, read my email, listen to a news program, make the bed, get dressed for the day, and go into my home office between 8 and 9.   A couple of times a week there are Zoom meetings or Facebook Live events to “attend” in the morning.  Each day I hand write cards to church members and friends, then write my daily meditation.  Writing the cards and the meditation often take at least 2 hours to complete.  But I must say that writing a daily meditation has been a very good discipline for me these last few months.  

I begin by reading up to 9 passages of Scripture - two sets of three readings assigned for the day from the Revised Common Lectionary, a daily meditation from the United Church of Christ, a daily meditation from Sojourners magazine, and a daily meditation from Bible Gateway.   If one of them provokes an immediate strong response, great.  If not, I read them over and over again, more carefully each time until one phrase or verse speaks to me.  Sometimes that process goes on for quite a while.  Then I begin to write.   The writing usually takes about an hour, sometimes more.  

This part of my day is undoubtedly the most intentional.  So many other daily activities just sort of happen without me paying a lot of attention, especially now that I am home 24/7.  I eat lunch around noon, wash dishes, give Doofenschmirtz some kitty treats (yes, he is spoiled), and take something out to thaw for dinner, after which I go back into my office and do stuff for several hours - read, study, research, attend other online meetings, have online conversations with colleagues, work on the sermon and prayer for Sunday . . . same old, same old, day after day . . .

When I saw this phrase in today’s reading, “Watch your feet on the way” I realized that I don’t always pay that much attention to what I am doing.  I’m not really doing anything wrong.  I am not veering off the path to the left or the right and stumbling into evil. But I’m not watching my feet, either.  I’m not being mindful about all of those other activities.  I just kind of do the next thing.  The days run into each other, so much so that I often have to check to see what day of the week it is.  I am tempted to refrain from checking the “I am not a robot” box on some websites, because I feel a bit robotic.  I’m not quite sure what to do with this.  

Gracious and Eternal God, the path ahead seems to keep going forever.  Every day feels like every other day, each step I take along the way feels like every other step.  Help me be more intentional in my daily activities.  Help me to watch my step and remain on the path that leads to you.  Amen.