If it's H-E-B, it must be Thursday.

I just discovered the TV show "The Big Bang Theory". I have fallen in love with this show. It is about nerds, very smart nerds with, as you would expect, lots of quirky actions, thinking, and "phobias" . If you have seen the show then you know Sheldon, the worst of all these traits. Sheldon has a schedule for everything, the meals they eat, or go out to eat on specific nights, the video games they play after eating, or the Movies they watch on what days, (They have seen the Star Wars movies at LEAST 529 times, by Sheldon's account, and he would be the first to tell you, he is never wrong.) Anything that deviates from this schedule makes Sheldon uneasy. I mean he has to sit in the same seat, he has to eat the same food, he has to have the same friends, (anyone new to their group, is very upsetting) You see Sheldon is a human being taken to the extreme.
Do you have a routine? I am stuck in a rut so much, that my cat follows me around my apartment from the front, she knows were I am going before I get there. I take my Dad to the grocery store every Thursday, I buy the same things, I see the same people, I talk to the employees about the same things, (usually sports, there are so guys in produce that love sports as much as I) There is one lady that shops on Thursday as well, she is very friendly and I see her every week. I have started conversations with her that have lasted for 30 minutes or more. She is a widow, and seems very lonely. I am lonely also and love to talk. I forgot her name she told me a thousand times, but I told her I was so bad with names, I would more the likely forget it, which I did.
I ran into this lady again yesterday, Thursday, and the first thing she said was: "If it's H-E-B it must be Thursday" I just realized, that not everyone knows what H-E-B is. It is a large grocery chain here in central Texas. It stands for the man who's mother started the business years ago in Corpus Christi, I believe. The named it H-E-B his initials, because their last name is "Butts" and I guess "Butts Grocery" would not have been their first choice.
This lady and I talked about everything in the world, it seemed. It started with her telling me she wanted to make "Bean Tamales" , she said she watched those food type TV channels and they always had such good recipes.
But back to my point,. Is this the way your life, like mine, goes? Get up, have breakfast, coffee (No, it's Coffee first?) Then brush your teeth, make the bed, get dressed for work, head out. Work for 8,9,10,20 hours rush home, eat dinner, watch TV for a hour or more, go to bed and start again? On weekends it changes a little, you get a little more sleep, you watch more TV, you clean, do the laundry, go to church on Sunday sit in the same place you have sat in for the last 20 years, hear a sermon you forget by 3 pm, and go out to eat with friends or family, or both. Go home, watch a little TV and start the whole thing again the next morning? Sound like a boring life? It is, it is my life, and , I imagine it is yours as well. Is there anything wrong with this life? No, not really, "If it's Church, it must be Sunday".
This can be a very depressing life, why? Because there is no fulfillment, no purpose, no inspiration. This is not the life God wants for us. He wants us to share with our family (everyone) His love, He wants us to care for others, He wants us to be truly happy. How do we do that? Listen, very closely, because He will whisper in a still small voice, to Him. He will lead us, sometimes , most of the time, away from our rut, our routine, our comfort zone to someone or some circumstance where we will find fulfillment, and be able to serve.
Serving is the best way to get out of that "Rut" felling. Help at church, help at a homeless shelter, give away some of that time that your hording. When we give unconditionally, we receive unconditionally. Some of the nicest people I have ever met are asking for money on street corners. They live wherever they can, under overpasses, or behind stores. They have nothing, they smell, they look bad. But they, usually, are very honest. There is no "rut" for them, they are barely surviving. Sure, they would appreciate you giving them a little to help them get something to eat, but just conversation is appreciated. I recently gave an old blanket I had in my truck to a lady I see all the time near my house. I told her I knew the cold weather was coming and hoped this would help. You would have thought I had given her $1,000.00. She reached into my open window and hugged me. It was an old dirty blanket that had been riding around in my truck for years, but it would help keep her warm when it was cold outside,
Breaking away from routine is the best thing you can do. I am not saying be late to work because you wanted to sleep longer to break your rut. I know we have obligations. But talk to people, yes even the ones you don't know. Get to know them love them let them see that you care. (Not just say you care, but SEE, show them by your actions>)
Galatians 5:13
"For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love."
See? We have been called to live IN FREEDOM< what do we do with this freedom? Serve one another in love. Don't use our freedom to satisfy our sinful nature.
God is telling us, through His servant Paul, that we are free, but with freedom comes responsibility. Love others as ourselves, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We show our love by serving. They will know we are Christians by our love. Are we supposed to love those that don't live the way
WE think they should? Yes, we don't agree with how they are living, but we love them in spite of it. Note: I don't think it is a very good idea to "Love" someone you consider a sinner, and continue to tell them how wrong they are, that is the job of the Holy Spirit, to show them what they are doing is wrong, not ours. We can tell them if they ask, but our first job is to love them unconditionally.
Shouting from the house tops that "You are all going to Hell, if you don't change your ways" is not a good way to love someone. This comes across as judgmental. and just plain hateful. Yes the way they are living is wrong, but we are told to "Love them anyway." Who has the job to judge? Not you and not me, (Thank you Lord I don't have that job).
If it's Tuesday this must be the homeless shelter" I think that is a better rut to fall into. I know I have rambled today, sorry, but this is just my heart right now. Step out of your comfort zone, it feels pretty good.