Open Your Eyes to New Patterns

It had probably been several years since I had been to this particular gas station about 30 minutes from my house. But still, that's no excuse. 

I did what I always did at gas stations. I swiped my card. I pushed the 87 button for the grade of fuel I wanted. Then, I picked up the handle to the right of the pump, put it in my gas tank and squeezed the trigger. 

Nothing. 

I thought, oh, this pump isn't working. So, I drove around to another pump on the other side. 

Same thing. 

I asked a guy at the next pump. He said his pump was working. So, I drove to a third pump and still was having no luck. 

Mystified, I walked into the gas station to ask the clerk what I was missing. Why are the pumps not working for me?

“Hit the button and then grab the hose that the arrow is pointing at. There is a hose on each side of the pump.” 

Wow. The big red arrows. The hoses on both sides of the machine. I never saw them. 

My brain was so conditioned to hit the button and grab the handle on the right side of the machine that I never even looked to see the obvious signs and instruments around me. I was instantly embarrassed and would have felt stupid if I didn't already see the bigger picture. I'm not stupid, but sometimes I do miss things because they're not what I'm expecting to see. 

I've heard that about 85% of the thoughts and actions we take each day are habitual. Basically, they're occurring naturally from the ways that we've programmed ourselves to operate. My scenario above (which is an absolutely true story) is evidence of that. When we go about our day flowing through our habitual responses, we do what we've always done…and get what we've always gotten. 

I am committed to being a lifelong learner. I may still miss things at times, but I never want to settle into patterns of complacency. I will spend my life learning and growing as I'm living my life fully awake and alive, dedicating to loving God and loving others. 

Ephesians 5: 14-15 NIV