Who Are You?
When you hear “routine,” does the word make you cringe or feel empowered? Do you feel constrained by a routine, or do you feel a sense of freedom? Does the concept feel like a weighty reminder of everything you’re not doing perfectly, or are you someone who’s constantly looking for inspiration on how to refine your routine? The concept of routine often feels like candy corn; people either love it or they hate it!
This time of year often feels like the season of returning to a routine—whether you have children going back to school or are simply returning to a new normal at work now that summer office hours and vacation season is done. Within the past year, there’s been an ongoing trend of people romanticizing their morning routines to be considered “that girl” or “that mom.”
You know her, the woman who, whether she has kids or not, wakes up at 5 a.m. to work out, do her seven-step skincare routine, read her Bible, make a matcha, cook a protein-filled breakfast, get ready, and be out the door (with prepped kids or not) before 9 a.m. Oh, and did I mention she looks like she stepped right out of Pinterest?
We’re sold the lie that if we can just maintain “that woman’s” unsustainable morning routine, we can become “that woman” too. What started as a way for people to feel more organized and content in the morning has quickly grown into a means of consumerism and comparison. How many morning routines insist you need half a dozen products?
The problem is that suddenly society has determined for us that there is a “one size fits all” morning routine for success. Not only is this social media curated routine unsustainable, it also lacks any room for grace and life happening. Life is unpredictable, it changes, and so our routines need to be able to change too.
Don’t Try to Be the Girl on the Screen; Be Who God Made You to Be.
I’m one of many who have always struggled with an “anxious normal.” Having a routine in the morning helps me start my day centered and calmly—but it wasn’t always that way. In college, I was more than intrigued by the routine of “that college girl”—someone who woke up early to read her Bible, go to the gym, eat a healthy breakfast, buy a coffee, get fully ready and be at the library studying by 9:30 a.m.
I wanted to be like “her” so badly—she clearly had it all together—that I didn’t even consider that this lab-grown routine wasn’t practical for when you have to do some late-night studying, when you’re traveling to visit family, or when you’re living with a roommate in a dorm room the size of a one car garage . . .
No wonder I started more days frustrated rather than calm; I was essentially trying to live someone else’s life. Instead of just stopping to reset, I was constantly modifying and striving to have a different perfect morning routine, still leaving no room for grace, and feeling stressed before I even got out of bed. “Wait, what’s the first thing I’m supposed to do?”
What was supposed to help me feel a sense of steadiness in the morning left me feeling like a rushed failure, no matter how the day unfolded. I was more focused on accomplishing everything I thought I “should” do in the morning, instead of focusing on doing the things that were most practical for me, and slowly and intentionally reaping the benefits of actually doing them.
My wakeup call happened when I realized I was so rushed and distracted reading my Bible every day that I had no idea what I was even reading!
Give Your Routine the Same Grace God Gives You
First, I felt guilty. Beyond feeling like a failure of a twenty-year-old college girl, I felt like a disappointment to God. He doesn’t just want us to read Scripture; He wants Scripture to enliven a personal relationship with us. And he wants us to invite Him into every area of our lives.
And that’s when I realized, you’re not a failure if you can’t live a whole five to nine before your nine to five. You’re not a failure of a follower of Jesus if you can’t spend an hour in Scripture and prayer every morning. And moms—you’re not a failure if you don’t have homemade sourdough bread with pasture raised eggs for your kids every morning.
Realizing this wasn’t a sign of God’s disappointment, it was a sign of His grace. Routines should help us enjoy the life God gave us. God wants to be invited into whatever routine works best for your individual life.
What are the things you have to do in the morning? Now, list out three simple things you would like to do in the morning. Just three. I’ve found that the three practices I need to ground me in the morning are making my bed, making a cup of coffee, and reading my Bible.
They’re simple, easily transportable, and set my day up for success no matter how the day unfolds. So, what are yours?
I think the secret of a successful morning routine is that it’s simple enough to consistently do and allows room for God and grace. Not every day will be picture perfect, and routines can’t fix that. We can’t depend on our routines for a sense of steadiness. We have to cling to Christ, who knows what the day holds before we even wake up. And on days when things don’t go as planned, remember that God knew it wouldn’t all along. He’s still at work, He’s still good, He’s right there with you, and He reminds you on those days, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
—Written by Hannah Kuhn. Used by permission from the author.
