Let me say autopilot is not all bad. There are some days it simply must be used, and let's face it. Autopilot is better than no pilot. But when autopilot becomes a default mode, I know I am not living the way I was made to live.
I have found that when I get the hang of something, (ie. I have been parenting for 7 years, married for 10, pursuing friends for well over 30) I can easily and insidiously slip into autopilot...AKA complacency, AKA doing things they way they've always been done, AKA no effort...you get the point. Autopilot can turn my husband into a roommate, my good friends into acquaintances, my children into a to-do list and my ministry into an irrelevant drudergy.
Simply put: When I live in that mode, verses being deliberate and intentional, I am choosing to pursue "okay or good," and not "excellence or greatness." And I believe that as a child of God I was made for excellence and greatness.
So today I am declaring autopilot to be one of my worst enemies.
One of my favorite Christian thinkers, Mark Batterson (pastor of National Community Church in D.C.... for a quick but super inspiring thought each day subscribe to his blog: www. evotional.com ) talks about the concept of viewing old things in new ways. Speaking of old things in new ways. Of doing old things in new ways. This is how they approach ministry in their church and how they stay relevant in a fast changing world. But I think the concept can apply to life in general.
My new goal is to be deliberate and intentional (aren't those the antidotes of complacency?). And to look at my role as parent, wife, friend, nurse, Christ follower with new eyes. To approach an everyday or "old" thing in a fresh new way.
I'll let you know how it goes...
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