What do you think of when you think of the life of the guards at Buckingham palace? I think of routines, regimentation and precision. My life has turned into a very rigid routine. When I wake up, the morning routine is taking a very carefully calibrated steroid and anti-seizure medication. I have some freedom for the rest of morning after taking my medications, but at 2:00 pm my routines start all over. I take an anti-nausea medication at 2:00 p.m., and from this point on until 5:00 p.m. I can only drink water. At 3:00 pm I take my chemo pill.
The next part of the routine is a 10 minute trip to Mayo for my treatment and various appointments. I check in to the radiation waiting room, and between 3:45-4:00 pm. I am taken back for radiation. They put a mask on me that is like a hockey goal tenders mask. I climb on a table, and they radiate my brain. How long do you think radiation lasts? It is surprisingly short. It seems no longer than 5 minutes most days.
After radiation I head home for my night time ritual of medications. Because of the steroids, I am very hungry, and I am eating like a bear and gaining weight. I’m into the 190’s now. My son jokes with me and says I’m getting into nose tackle weight range! I am happy that I am being weaned off the steroids. I have one more week at 1mg of steroids. This should help with my voracious appetite and my difficulty sleeping.
Prayer Requests:
- I have started to experience some pain in my knees and ankles, and strangely, it is not consistent. It makes me feel just a little wobbly on my feet. Pray that this pain goes away.
- I am still not getting great sleep through the night. Pray for consistent, long periods of sleep at night.
Routines and Your Relationship with God: I’m not usually a routine kind of guy. I am spontaneous and kind of make things up as I go each day. In this season, I have learned the value of routines. Here’s a few thoughts on routines and our relationship with God.
God doesn’t want a routine relationship with you, but routines can help you have a great relationship with God. If prayer and reading the Bible and going to church just become a box you check on your things to do list, then you’ve missed the point of the routine. Routines can be meaningful moments of meeting with God to worship Him, to pour out your heart to Him, to learn the promises and commands of His Word. But if we’re not careful, routines can turn into boring “have to’s” that don’t help us have a relationship with God.
Matthew 15:7-8
You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, by saying:
8 ‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
What God wants most is your heart. Whatever routine helps you connect with God, feel closer to God is the right routine. There is no one size fits all routine for intimacy with God. I have a friend who takes walks in nature which helps him meet with God. Others meet with God through listening to worship music. I don’t do devotionals books, but if that works for you great. I use the Lord’s Prayer to guide my time with God. I start with praising God. I worship Him for who He is. I hallow his name. I spend time thanking him for my daily bread and all his blessings in my life. Routines aren’t bad as long as they don’t turn into ruts!!