I am not consistent. Betchya He'll do it.

Here’s what I hate: I am not consistent.

Apparently, there’s such a thing as preventive maintenance on machines. Cars need oil changes and air conditioning systems need new filters on a regular basis—that sort of thing.

There’s also preventive medicine—AKA taking care of your body before it is breaking down. Things like eating healthful foods with fiber and amino acids or Omega 3s. And stuff like exercise and flossing. (Yeah, were talking about really fun stuff now.)

My personality isn’t great at preventive measures like these. If there is not a symptom of a problem, then why do anything? (Similarly, I tend to wait until you can SEE dirt in the bathroom before I clean it—now, you’ll never come over.) I am more of a fire-putter-outer (I doubt that is a real word, even with the hyphens in it). I wait ‘til there is a problem, and THEN I jump into action. Maybe it is because I tend to be a procrastinator. Why do today what I can put off ‘til tomorrow? (Wow, now I’m a procrastinator with a dirty bathroom, I bet you really want to be my friend, huh?)

I wish I was better about preventive maintenance. I wish I could get into the habit of flossing regularly and be more consistent with replacing a/c filters and getting oil changes. But, I’m not really a habit sort of person. I don’t do anything very consistently. Brush my teeth at night? Usually. It doesn’t bother me if I miss a night. (Gross, huh?) Make my bed each morning. Mostly. I like it to be made—but sometimes I don’t get around to it. That’s ok. Water our yard? Not on a regular basis—but if it looks like it is about to die, maybe. Dust? When it starts piling up. Laundry? Same thing. (Although, each week I declare that every Monday will be laundry day. That works about once a month.) I’m just not very consistent about things.

This bothers me.

I have a friend who puts on lotion every night. We’re talking nose to toes lathering up in good, clean, hydrating lotion. Does she have dry skin? No way. Not even in the dead of winter. Her skin is all healthy and lovely. I don’t think that she’s preventing aging or wrinkles or anything. But, she’s definitely preventing dryness.

When you do something that consistently, it’s going to have an impact.

The thing that really bothers me is that my lack of consistency also applies to my spiritual life. I mean, I chat with God all day long. I thank Him for things, I ask for His direction in the moment, I ask for His help when I am overwhelmed, I stop everything and pray fervently for others if something comes up—stuff like that—

BUT, I don’t read the Bible every day at a certain time.

I probably read at least a verse or two at some point each day, but I start out a week reading chapters each day (I started this January to read the Bible from beginning to end by the time I hit March, I realized I had somehow missed 13 days.) Why? I suppose that it is lack of discipline. If I want to remember to do something consistently, I schedule it on the calendar on my iPhone and since it has an audible reminder, I usually complete anything it’s telling me to do. BUT, when it’s a daily thing, I tend to fizzle out after several days.

WHY!? Why can’t I be a consistent, habit type of person?

Similar to preventive maintenance and preventive healthcare, there are preventive actions we can take in our spiritual lives. Reading the Bible every day usually leads to peace-filled days, wisdom when I need it, and overall growth. Praying the armor (from Ephesians 6:10-17) over yourself each day results in some serious protection of your heart, mind, and soul from attack and strengthens you for times of temptation. I know this from experience and yet, I only sometimes pray the armor.

I only sometimes read the Bible to my kids.

I only sometimes have regular prayer time.

I only sometimes floss.

I only sometimes dust.

Here’s the thing though—the latter two things will eventually not matter at all—my dusty house will not last forever, and even my current set of teeth will not make it into eternity (or they will be fully and miraculously restored in my new body.) So, that leaves the real issues being Bible reading and prayer. These are the things that will affect my heart and character and have eternal value.

One thing I’ve realized in all this self-deprecation is that I do tend to slowly improve on preventive measures or good habits over time. I am actually fairly consistent now with oil changes, bathroom cleaning, and a/c filter replacement (thanks to my iPhone calendar reminder!) Each year, I go for longer stretches reading my Bible regularly. So, while I am not an obsessive habit person, I do recognize the value in consistency and thankfully, I can ask the Father to help teach me. He who is always faithful, can work in me to show me how to live my life faithfully and consistently as well.

I think I’ll pray and ask Him to give me a daily reminder on my internal “calendar” to read my Bible...

Here's what I love: Betchya He’ll do it.

UPDATE: 9/11/11--I have an exciting update to this post. Around the time of this blog post back in March, I did pray for an internal reminder to wake up consistently each morning and read my bible. Since that time, I have not missed a day. God is so faithful!--and consistent!