Little Habits That Shape a Life

Is Your Bed Made?

"Is your bed made?" I heard this many mornings at the breakfast table, or before I left for school. Cue the eye roll. If it wasn't done, I had to go back and make it.

My parents insisted our beds were made before the day started. My mom liked a tidy house, and my dad said it was the first thing he learned in boot camp as a young soldier, though maybe his mother drilled it into him before that. All I know is it was a daily task, 364 days a year. We got a pass on Christmas morning; my parents weren't monsters.

To this day my bed is made every morning. Maybe not the moment my feet hit the floor, but it is one of my first chores, after coffee but before makeup. I was having a conversation with one of my sons recently, and this came up. He mentioned a book by William H. McRaven titled "Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life and Maybe the World."

The Power of a Small Win

The premise is that this discipline sets your day in the right direction. It is an accomplishment that gives you a sense of positivity for the rest of the day. Perhaps. As a child I just knew it was better than being disobedient. That's the kind of kid I was. As an adult I like the feeling of walking into my bedroom and seeing the bed made, all neat and tidy.

The Kitchen Rule

There are other things in this vein. My mother had a non-negotiable: never go to bed with dishes in the sink. That has stuck with me as well, and not just because of her idiosyncrasies.

It has been shown that waking to a clutter-free kitchen has benefits. Starting the day with a clean kitchen gives you an immediate, satisfying sense of control over your environment. This small win can boost your confidence and create a positive mindset, motivating you to tackle other challenges throughout the day.

Clutter, known as visual noise, can distract the brain and overwhelm its ability to process information efficiently. A clean, tidy kitchen eliminates this distraction, freeing up cognitive resources. This enhanced mental clarity makes it easier to concentrate on the tasks and priorities of the day. I know this is true for me, though maybe not for all. I've seen geniuses at work in chaotic clutter.

Less Help, New Habits

All of this became much more burdensome when my teenage children moved out. Where did my kitchen help go? I became more efficient at making less mess as I cooked and at loading the dishwasher throughout the day.

Side note: with only two of us in the house, the dishwasher runs far less. Just a bit of hope for those of you with housefuls of kiddos.

Leaving Home Tidy

This feeling is multiplied when we leave for a trip or vacation. A good friend calls it "mopping my way out the door." When I leave for an extended time, I spend the last bit of time at home cleaning the refrigerator, pantry, bathrooms, and floors.

Being away from home, especially at this stage of life, I find myself yearning to get back. If I were to walk into a home where chores were waiting, I would feel stressed, not relieved. Walking into a tidy home allows me to fall into its welcoming embrace. Home should always feel that way.

What Discipline Teaches

There is a greater application here. All of these exercises are a study in discipline, not punishment. Discipline is training a person to do something in a controlled or habitual way. As we look at these habits of caring for our home, we can apply the same principles to other areas.

My parents instilled disciplines that have carried over into my adult life. Habits I observe even now. They shaped my character, attitudes, and daily practices, merely by having me repeat the same exercises every day throughout my childhood. These are positives for the most part. Some might annoy my husband, if you count the pillows on the bed. Nonetheless.

Spiritual Disciplines

In our spiritual lives, the same principles apply. Only by practicing disciplines regularly and consistently do they become habits that shape our character, attitude, and daily practices. What are these disciplines? We immediately think: read the Bible daily and pray. But let's go deeper. Let's look at Philippians 4:8:

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

And also Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

While these are not as clear-cut as "make your bed" or "load the dishwasher," God makes it clear what should fill our minds, our thoughts, and our imaginations. Turning intent into action is right at our hands.

When the World Feels Overwhelming

The last few weeks have been a prime example of what happens when we allow, unfiltered, the worldview that Satan is pumping through a fire hose into society. If we do not fill our hearts and minds with God's antivenom, we will find ourselves consumed by it. I read daily of believers who feel overwhelmed, distressed, fearful, and even depressed by what is happening around them. That will happen if they have not done the preemptive housework of saturating themselves in the verses above.

Promises to Hold

2 Corinthians 4:8-9: "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed."

Verse 18: "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."

And then the words of Jesus Himself:

John 16:33: "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."