Hope Is AliveSample

"Get A Routine"

I understand the natural aversion some addicts have to routine. How long have we lived in a world of doing whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted to do it? This free-spirited mentality may cause some of you to believe that routines will restrict your freedom and limit your ability to grow. The truth is quite the opposite. We set routines to keep us balanced as we seek out that desired freedom and growth. As we re-enter the world as new beings, most experiences will produce emotions and feelings that for years have lain dormant. By setting and sticking to a solid routine, we’re solidifying our foundation, enabling us to handle these unfamiliar sensations in a healthy way.  Here are a few ways routines help us keep hope alive.

Routines provide structure. Routines allow us to tackle new and complex situations in a reliable and protective way. By systematically approaching each day, we begin to develop positive habits and teach our brains to make good decisions. We learn to be consistent, a word seldom used to describe our behavior in the past. Additionally, on slow, boring days—the types of days when we used to make poor decisions—our routines help us stay in the moment. They keep us grounded, tied down to the reality of our situation.

Routines provide self-confidence. As we check off our list every day, our confidence grows. We are accomplishing tasks we never could have completed while drunk or high. As this self-assurance grows, our fear of the unknown begins to slowly diminish and true change seems a little more possible. Courage and self-esteem build within us as we successfully take on new responsibilities.

Routines prepare us for the future. As we practice our routines, innately we will begin to develop skills that will serve us greatly in the days to come. Waking up early, making our bed, finding time to read, and saying prayers before we go to bed all mimic the type of professional schedule we’ve failed to maintain in the past. Our routine keeps us focused and always looking ahead, inherently building up strategic planning and time-management skills.

Routines boost your spiritual connections. Making a concerted effort to seek God each day will naturally grow your understanding of Him and drive your faith to levels never before attained. As you carve out daily time to consciously contact Him through prayer, meditation, and daily devotionals, God will begin to reveal His truths to you. Momentum will grow as you begin to see how God’s sovereign hand has guided and protected you even through your addiction. 

Scores of books have been written about time management. I have found that highly successful people in the recovery world have discovered reproducible principles of life; even Jesus gave a tremendous example of consistency and routine when we see that his life was marked by rising early to pray daily. Educators will tell you that repetition has great value. Songwriters know the value of repetition, and so do athletes. 

Routine in life reveals what we value. If it’s true that we succeed in what we celebrate, then let’s get on board and celebrate routines that will foster daily sobriety. Nothing will benefit us more than a daily dose of prayer, Bible reading, and meditation.

But all the routine in the world won’t help you if you don’t prioritize it first, and your number-one priority, according to Jesus, is to seek God’s kingdom first and foremost. Before you take care of what you’re going to eat or drink or wear, you need to seek God. 

When you make your relationship with God your first priority, then everything else in your routine falls into place! When you learn to trust Him with every part of your life, then all those parts seem a little less worrisome. 

Let the kingdom of God fill your view.