Creating a groove

If you have a bad habit of any kind---a habit of thought, a habit of speech---it no doubt took a while to become established. The well-worn rut between the unfulfilled businessman and Joe's Bar, between the unhappy housewife and the cookie jar, was created and solidified over time.

Why should we let bad choices have all the advantage of habit? I have discovered that good practices can become entrenched, too. And the good act is no less good for being entrenched and easy than it was the first few times when I had to work hard at it.

My late husband and I suffered a spectacular implosion 12 years into the marriage. Part of picking up the pieces involved having to learn to speak to each other (which we hadn't done much of for over a decade). I was surprised at how difficult it was to do that simple thing. At first it felt downright awkward and stilted to make conversation with him.

The habit of conversing with God (aka, prayer) also had to be learned and felt unnatural at first. The Lord must have wanted it as badly as I did, because he gave me a dog. This provided the necessity of a twice-daily walk of about a half-hour's duration. The dog is now gone, but the habit took root and grew.

Later, God showed me a wonderful and secluded place to walk every morning. The minute I step foot in there I start talking to God, and after about a quarter-mile, prayer takes on a momentum of its own and carries me on its own power (is it the Holy Spirit?). Over time, God and I have gotten past the awkward stage. (I didn't say the respectful or God-fearing stage.) And because I read His Word so much, when I speak to him I feel like I am speaking on His wavelength.

It is a matter of established habit now that I talk to God all through the day. It feels good, it brings joy, and it brings lucidity as I am continually realigning myself with truth.

Last time I read the book of Job, I noticed an interesting thing. Job's address to his friends at several points makes a seamless transition into addressing God. This is not the case with his three friends; they are always talking on the horizontal plane (though they are, of course, talking about God). My impression is that Job is just being Job here. He has, over time, created a groove between himself and God, and he just keeps falling into it many times throughout the day.

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