Habits.  Sometimes we don't even realize we have been doing something slightly incorrectly.  Exactly how and when did we get off-track?

Last week I encountered someone with a mildly annoying habit.  We had all gone with my mother-in-law to the hearing aid place.  She had ordered a new hearing aid to replace an old one. 

We knew we would be there for awhile.  We were aware that the doctor would need to adjust the electronics to her sensitivities.  In addition to this, we got there half an hour early.  My husband overcalculated how long it would take to get there. But that was okay.  I had made sure my boys had gameboys and I brought my crochet project. 

Sitting there working on my blanket, I began to realize that when the secretary would answer the phone, she would say, "Smith Hearing Aid and Ideology Center..."

At first, I thought I had mis-heard.  So I listened closer next time the phone rang.  Nope, sure enough.  "Smith Hearing Aid and Ideology Center...."

Another lady who had come in tried to gently point it out to her.  "What was it you said?  Oh, you said 'Smith Hearing Aid and Audiology Center,' " she fibbed, the Grace of God aiding her efforts.  She continued, "I thought you said 'ideology' center." Then she gave a good natured chuckle. 

"Oh, no," she secretary chuckled back. 

But she didn't take the hint.  The next time the phone rang, she swapped "audiology" for "ideology" again.  It was a habit.  She did not know she was doing it.  When she was first hired, I am sure she began answering the phone with the right word.  Then over time, after saying the same phrase repeatedly almost every day, it had became twisted.

How often have each of us gotten off-track?  We set out doing something, then lose focus.  We wander off of the path without even noticing.  We wake up to find that what we are doing is, to some degree, not at all what we had intended to do. 

I am not saying this is necessarily a bad thing.  I have learned some really interesting things going off on "rabbit trails."  The key, I think, is being aware of going off-track and being careful to make sure that doing so will benefit you, your children, (or more importantly) God.

This upcoming school year, I will try to do this.  There have been too many times that I realize I have wandered deep into the figurative forrest, and my intended path is nowhere to been seen.  I hope to say on the path God has set before me.  And I hope to be aware when the path I think I need to be on diverges from His path.