I thought I had a great idea. Why not write about what Torah has to say about home management, and specifically routine? I already wrote some posts about Torah parenting, and even some books. Surely Torah has something to say about how we run our homes, too. Little did I know the post would end up all about me (and my shortcomings).
Torah does indeed have a lot to say about home management and particularly routines. All of Scripture is run on cycles. The seasons run on a cycle. The feasts run on a cycle. The stars and heavenly bodies run on a cycle. Cycles are routines. They are predictable and reliable. The tabernacle is predictable and orderly. We are told where to put each piece of furniture and how to do each sacrifice. We are told what day to keep the feasts. Torah is orderly and predictable. It is not a big jump to realize that our homes should have routine, order, and predictability.
I know this. I really do. But my home is not always orderly or based on a predictable routine. Why not? Because I usually fizzle out, and decide that it doesn’t really matter. I have never found sufficient motivation to maintain routines for more than two weeks. A habit is not usually formed in two weeks.
I have a child with asperger’s syndrome, and probably a husband, too. They thrive on routine. The emotional intensity in my house would probably be greatly lessened if I kept to a routine. This motivates me! Can I make changes to benefit them, and at the same time benefit the rest of us? Yes, I can.
Yet, there is another motivater. Torah was sufficient to change my diet. It was sufficient to make me leave a church and way of life that I had followed from birth. It changed how I look at life. Torah says I should have routine, cycles, order. Now, I am no longer looking at just how routine is beneficial. It’s not just a good thing. It’s not an item on my to-do list. It’s a Torah thing, and Torah things get done. I want to please my Messiah and Creator. I want to thank Yahshua for His sacrifice. I am grateful to be part of Israel, part of YHVH’s family. If He says I should have routine and order, then it’s good enough for me!
So, how do I get order and routine? I’m thinking – a little at a time.
As I sat overwhelmed at the idea of developing routines, I realized that I already had a routine in place. Shabbat! Every Friday night, we put a red checkered tablecloth on the table. We light a couple candles. We sing the priestly blessing. We eat crockpot lasagna. We watch Pit Pony together. On Shabbat, we eat dried fruit, nuts, and cheese for lunch. We listen to the Torah portion with an audio Bible. We have a predictable event that happens every week without fail. Praise YHVH!
Now, I need to add other predictable events. I realized that some of our meals are predictable. We eat burgers every Monday night. We eat tacos on Tuesday. Meals are another routine that I have developed.
My goal now is to work on evenings. This is the hardest part of the day for me. This is when everyone is, well, a little crazy! So I plan to make a plan on how to spend our evenings.
Wow! Another way to obey Torah in every day life!
Have you developed some routines at your house?
