The other day while I was driving home, it occurred to me that I was in a sort of trance. As thoughts swirled inside my head, stirring stress about what would be for dinner and if I had enough time to do laundry, my memory led my body home without me really paying any attention.
The phenomenon is known as “autopilot” and I am positive you know the feeling. You end up at places like work or the grocery store with no recollection of how you really got there.
Sometimes autopilot does not serve me so well; a few weeks ago I ended up going down the wrong freeway! I took a 10 minute detour for my lack of attention, and not just with driving! There are other things I catch myself doing on autopilot… How else did my phone end up in the pantry or the milk end up in the cupboard? However, more so than inconvenience, autopilot can be dangerous!
“I don’t remember checking to see if that light was green… oops… oh well…”
Now, I have never been in in an accident or anything due to autopilot, but I am sure it happens quite often.
Have you suffered because of being on autopilot?
What about marriage? How can autopilot be dangerous in marriage?
We can get so use to routine that we allow autopilot to take control as we zone out, meanwhile, our spouse is suffering either from our negligence, negative responses that we are not aware of, or misleading. Instead of handing over our hearts to autopilot, we need to be able to love our spouse intentionally! We need to have the self-control and awareness to be a good friend, helper, and lover.
Please be aware of the dangers of autopilot and be intentional in your marriage!
This can also apply to our Christian walk of faith. If autopilot gets you to church on time, that is great! However, we would live so much more purposefully if we went to church intentionally, asking God “Where can I serve in ministry today?” or “Show me who I can bless at church today?” The outcome of the church experience would be quite different!
Or even take reading the Bible, autopilot can have you scanning scriptures in no time at all… but by the third paragraph you may be wondering what you just read. Those fine print red words become a blur that lack impact when we read on autopilot. Intentional Bible reading will encourage your spirit, give you wisdom, and stir up faithfulness!
Let us pray against this phenomenon called autopilot and let us live intentionally!
This was taken in Dec of 2010 when my husband surprised me for my birthday by taking me in a small little plane out to Catalina! I was a real pilot for a day 🙂