The Same ol' Same ol'

“How are you doing today?”
“Oh, the same ol’ same ol.”
While waiting for breakfast at the local fast food place, I engaged in people watching. Two of the working men greeted each other with the usual clichés. We don’t really want to know how we are doing, and most of us don’t feel like disclosing how we really feel. “The same ol,’ same ol’” is a universal statement of being. It can mean, “Nothing exciting ever happens around here.” Life is boring; its constant sameness numbs the senses. The writer of Ecclesiastes expresses his frustration with the sameness of life: “The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hurries to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south, and goes around to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they continue to flow. All things are wearisome; more than one can express; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, or the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.” –Ecclesiastes 1:5-9.
The same ol, same ol can also be a good thing. It means there is stability in life. We all like stability. We want the sun to keep rising and setting, if it ever stopped that would be very upsetting. We like a certain amount of sameness in life. Life has a rhythm; we get up and get dressed, go to work and go to bed at night. We look forward to the weekend, when we can relax and enjoy ourselves. We enjoy going on vacation, but towards the end we long to return to our own home and sleep in our own bed. The same ol’ same ol’ isn’t a bad thing at all.
Some people lead lives where everything is different every day. They wake up to a new world every day, where things constantly change. We call that chaos, and it is very upsetting. Give me my sameness, my assurance that God is in control and that life will retain its rhythms. Paul cries out to the pagans, “Yet he has not left himself without a witness in doing good—giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.” –Acts 14:17. God blesses us with rhythms in life. You can call it the same ol’ same ol’ if you want, but it’s a blessing. It’s a rock to stand on—think Psalm 40:2 “He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.”
If everything is the same for you today, bless the name of the Lord. He’s given you stability and rhythm in life as a rock to stand on. Enjoy!