Don't Restart. Do This Instead.

This week reminded me just how much summer has a way of dismantling routines.

Family needed more of me.

A couple of friends needed some heavy counseling.

My college roommate stopped for a thru-stay on his way to a denominational meeting.

A few extended office days striving to meet deadlines.

Yesterday, I flew to Houston to preach tomorrow's services at church here and lead a leadership training.

While that is not unique to summer for me, being in itinerant ministry, yesterday everything "summer" about air travel was on full display...

Traffic jams.

Long lines.

Delayed flights.

This all turned lunch at the airport turned into a couple of "healthy" protein bars.

Munching on my Kind Bar, I sat in my plane seat, looked back over the past seven days and realized I'd only made it to the gym only once.

Yep, the week looked nothing like the one I had planned.

If you've ever looked at your July calendar and thought, "Did I plan this, or did someone else borrow my life?" you're probably having the same kind of summer.

My first thought was the same one many of us have.

"Well...I've got to get back on track."

Then it hit me.

No, I don't.

I don't need to restart.

I just need to resume.

There's a subtle but important difference between restarting and resuming.

Restarting assumes you've lost everything.

Resuming assumes you already know who you are.

That's an important distinction.

If you've spent the last several months building healthier habits...

walking, lifting, eating better, reading your Bible, planning your days, protecting your sleep...

a week or two of real life didn't erase all of that.

Those habits are still yours.

They're simply waiting for you to pick them back up.

Imagine taking a week of vacation from your church...

When you come home, you don't stand in the parking lot and announce, "Well, I guess it's time to plant another church."

Of course not.

You walk back into the one that's already there.

That's what resuming looks like.

You don't need a brand-new fitness plan.

You don't need another productivity app.

You don't need to wait until August 1.

Or Monday.

Or after the next trip.

You simply resume.

Go for the walk.

Cook the healthy meal.

Open your Bible.

Go to bed a little earlier tonight.

Show up at the gym.

One decision.

Then another.

One of the enemy's favorite lies is that because you've been inconsistent, you need some dramatic fresh start before you can become consistent again.

Don't believe it.

Healthy people aren't perfect.

They're just quick to return.

And this isn't only about fitness.

Maybe your prayer life has been squeezed out by the chaos of summer.

Resume.

Maybe your sermon preparation has become more reactive than intentional.

Resume.

Maybe your family has been getting whatever energy you happened to have left at the end of the day.

Resume.

Your calling hasn't changed just because your schedule has.

Here's the reality: life is never going to cooperate perfectly with your routines.

There will always be vacations, mission trips, conferences, funerals, weddings, grandkids, sick days, airport terminals, and weeks that look like someone dumped a thousand-piece puzzle on your calendar.

That's not failure.

That's life, bro.

As I'm writing this, I'm not planning some dramatic Monday comeback.

I'm simply going to resume.

I'll be back in the gym.

I'll eat a normal meal instead of whatever qualifies as lunch in an airport terminal.

I'll settle back into the rhythms that have served me well for years.

Not because I failed this week.

Because this week was life.

Maybe yours was too.

So here's my challenge.

Don't wait for everything to settle down.

It won't.

Don't wait until summer is over.

Don't wait for the perfect Monday.

Just resume.

Because the pastors who flourish over decades usually aren't the ones with perfect discipline.

They're the ones who become very good at returning.

Or perhaps a better word is this:

Resuming.

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