In the 1993 movie "Groundhog Day," a television weatherman finds himself trapped in a time loop, forcing him to endlessly repeat February 2nd. At one point in the movie, he asks, "What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same...?" Monotony. I think we have all felt it this year. I've had a lot of conversations with different people who asked, "What day is it, anyway?"
In our ladies' Bible class (which was conducted mostly through Zoom), we recently completed a study of C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters." In this satirical series of letters first published in 1942, a senior demon named Screwtape seeks to mentor his nephew, Wormwood, in the fine art of securing damnation for his "Patient." In Letter 25, Screwtape teaches Wormwood how to use monotony to pull the Patient away from God. He tells Wormwood, "The horror of the Same Old Thing is one of the most valuable passions we have produced in the human heart..." Screwtape continues, explaining how God has created man with a desire to experience change, but He has balanced man's love of change with a love of permanence. Screwtape writes, "He (God) has contrived to gratify both tastes together on the very world He has made, by that union of change and permanence which we call Rhythm."
Things are slowly beginning to return to a more normal rhythm - last week I found myself at home alone while Jeff was at the office - something that hasn't happened since the week of March 9th. But for most of us, the past three months have left us feeling like we are stuck, repeating the same day over and over again. And even though some things are back to "normal," many other things are still far from it.
Have you felt trapped or discouraged during this time of social isolation by the "Same Old Thing?" My son is a textbook extrovert. In fact, he chose to leave his single bachelor life to move back in with us for eight weeks, because he knew if he worked from his home alone with no physical contact with the outside world, he would literally lose his mind.
I, on the other hand, am the complete opposite. If you look up "introvert" in the dictionary, I am pretty sure you will find my picture there . . . Being around lots of people drains my energy. I enjoy solitude. I have a small group of close friends. Some might find me to be quiet and difficult to get to know. Too much stimulation leaves me feeling distracted and unfocused. (Actually, I'm not sure how Caleb can really be my son!) But even with my "loner" tendencies, this extended, strange time of the "Same Old Thing" has become old even to me!
Have you noticed the photos throughout this post? Take a minute and look at them. . . 
I snapped each of these photos on different mornings over the past three months. Every photo was taken around the same time of the morning from close to the same vantage point, of the same lake in our neighborhood. The "Same Old Thing," right? Isn't it wonderful how different the same old thing can be if we will only take the time to notice and appreciate it? G.K. Chesterton wrote, "Monotony has nothing to do with a place; monotony, either in its sensation or its infliction, is simply the quality of a person. There are no dreary sights; there are only dreary sightseers."
Ultimately, as with everything, the difference is in the heart. Both dissatisfaction and contentment are states of mind. We need and desire change, but sometimes a change of the heart is what is needed most. How's my heart? Seek today in the rhythm of the "Same Old Thing" to find something unique. Don't let Satan lull you into a sense of complacency by using monotony to pull you away from God. Find the joy. A good place to start is with God's blessings - His steadfast love and mercies are indeed "new" every morning! Great is His faithfulness, indeed! (Lam. 3:22-24)
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