Sacred Rhythms
As emails arrived in my inbox at the start of this new year, it was amusing and a bit overwhelming that one after the other, they asked to steal the sacred time my family enjoys on Saturday mornings.
Four sacred Sabbath Saturday mornings could be gone just like that!
I was relieved when I brought this concern to my husband, and we narrowed it down to one mandatory meeting and released the others from our calendar, typing “skip” beside each one in our Google calendar.
This past Saturday, we enjoyed our usual slow, extra special Saturday breakfast where Benj and the kids make something that is usually topped with berries, syrup and whipped cream, and then piled into our minivan for one of our “experience” Christmas gifts.
We cross-country skid in the beautiful winter snow for the rest of the day.
Like never before, I am reminded that the Holy Spirit draws us into sacred rhythms of life if only we would listen.
This is what it means to live by a rule of life. I have written a little bit about a rule of life before, and you can read that here.
Reflecting on the values and intentions propelling spiritual growth is laborious, glorious work.
In Crafting a Rule of Life (2012), Stephen A. Macchia confirms it “takes time and concerted effort” (16) to outline rhythms and intentions.
His supportive, application-focused book guides the reader to compile their personal way of walking with God while concisely drawing on examples in scripture, history, and heroes of the faith (162).
Whether defined or not, all individuals live by a rule of life.
The key areas Macchia outlines are:
Time (spiritual)
Trust (relational)
Temple (physical)
Treasure (financial)
Talent (missional)
These remind me of the documents I have made at the start of each new year.
Essentially, they were attempts to create a rule of life without the language or history of this practice. In Sacred Rhythms (2010), Ruth Haley Barton (20) says:
Spiritual growth is something I have always desired.
As I revisited my spiritual rhythms this past fall, using Macchia’s process of evaluating roles, gifts, desires, vision, and mission (23-76), the elements of intentionality, flexibility and inspiration from the Holy Spirit guide my working document.
If you want to peek at my working ROL document, email me here, and I’d be happy to share it.
It feels a little too personal to post the table online, but I reflect on a lot of what is in it in this blog post!
As shared, having a rule of life has already been a great launching pad into 2024, guiding our decision making to enjoy most Saturday mornings together as a family rather than apart at meetings!
Intentional
Intentionality begins with knowing why I value and desire specific actions.
Reflection is a large part of discerning the next steps. Mark Buchanan speaks to this in God Walk (2020), sharing how Moses encourages the Israelites to remember (138).
Remember was also the timely title of my dad's last sermon to his beloved congregation before he had any inkling of the deadly cancer that would hijack his last four months of life.
The grief of my dad’s illness and passing affected many things, including my body.
A practical reflection comes simply by looking in the mirror; I see exhaustion and added weight there.
My rhythms include monitoring my health with doctor's checkups and counselling, prioritizing eight hours of sleep each night, and working through a focused training app to prepare mentally, physically and spiritually to run a half marathon on my fortieth birthday.
Running is a way of remembering my dad and embracing the resilience God has cultivated through a difficult season.
Thus, the intentionality of a personal rule of life leads to a healthier body and soul, ready to face tomorrow’s beauty and struggles.
The garden trellis is a conventional visual for a rule of life (14).
In my gardening experience, support systems are necessary so good fruit or potential blossoms do not rot or wither on the ground.
Cutting back and pruning affects my flowers’ success. While cutting off entire beautiful branches or pinching off blossoms appears harsh, new flowers take their turn in just a couple of weeks, blooming even more lovely. The plant looks groomed and bountiful rather than scraggly or overgrown.
This supporting and pruning must happen regularly in my calendar and commitments so my soul can flourish as God intended.
Macchia (15) says,
I experience peace and hope when I intentionally tend to what God has for me daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly, but I encounter frustration and restlessness when I try to chart my path.
The Bible shares the importance of having a vision (Psalm 29:18).
But I do not need to be convinced to plan or reflect.
I have bins in my storage room to prove calendars, planners, and journals have been by my side for years.
One thing I need reminding of in the beautiful spaces of intentionality is to be less rigid.
Flexible
A rule of life is a supportive, flexible structure.
A trellis is not made of concrete but materials that bend with the plant's needs.
Relationships require this give and take.
Macchia cautions that more than seven significant roles and relationships will create a struggle (24).
This saddens me, as many unique people need love and attention.
Still, I have learned to lean on the Holy Spirit’s guidance regarding which key relationships to invest in.
Barton notes,
“We begin to notice those times and moments when we were enlivened by the Spirit’s life-giving energy within, and we also notice times and places where we felt drained of life in some way” (135).
As I list my roles:
…wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, neighbour, student, writer…
I reach capacity!
And while some relationships will never go out of season, the most vital relationship is with God; everything else flows from there, which is why times of solitude (which I wrote on in Silence & Solitude part 1 and Silence & Solitude part 2) weave their way through my rule of life.
My husband and I reflect this same covenant love with a weekly practice of an "us" night.
Prayer is our golden thread, from personal quiet times to a brief yet bonding prayer time together each morning, later with my children as we start our homeschool, and throughout our day as led.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul highlights how love can shift the narrative (Macchia 37). This love is the fruit that grows when we remain in Christ (John 15:4).
I desire to show more loving affection and affirmation through being a good listener and encourager, and this comes when I am open-handed with my schedule and plans, all the while being intentional about special times with my husband, children, extended family and friends.
While I long to hold things loosely, I can only do this when my rhythms come from a heavenly drumbeat.
Inspired
The Holy Spirit inspires me to live the life only Charlene is designed to live.
As I tune in to the things that move me, like words and music, I recognize I can use them to fight back against the darkness in this world.
The vision God has given me has always been to communicate hope and bring light—whatever the medium–and my rule of life shows the next steps in this.
Macchia (57) says, like in Moses’ life:
To hear the Holy Spirit’s calling and timing requires wisdom.
Barton says the practice of discernment includes three beliefs:
1) Belief in the goodness of God,
2) Belief that love is our primary calling,
3) And belief that God does communicate with us through the Holy Spirit (142-144).
I partner with these truths as I faithfully show up each morning for quiet time.
Since a young age, I sensed a strong call from the Lord to have a missional focus.
But this does not have to be in Africa, where I spent three months in my early twenties.
It can happen within steps of my home, where Muslims, Hindus and atheists live.
God has given me the courage, desire, and creativity to make connections, build relationships and host events within my cul-de-sac.
As my husband and I seek to be God’s light in our community, we recognize what Barton (67) says to be true:
My leadership and administrative giftings and my passions for reading, writing, nature, and creatively expressing ideas can catalyze godly change within my spheres of influence.
I was moved by Joan Chittister’s book Radical Spirit (2017) and the messages that came through the twelve steps of humility to live free and honest with ourselves, others, and Christ!
I want to be remembered as a radical person who lived counter-culturally.
The posture of bowing before the Lord for his leading is always the first step to this radical lifestyle.
While my rule of life reflects intentionality, flexibility, and inspiration, it also reflects a new season—coming out of a winter of grief and loss and into a spring of new possibilities and vision.
Mark Buchanan uses this metaphor in Spiritual Rhythm (2010).
In this new season, my soul is longing and burning to see Christ’s light first in my family and then in my community.
From his hospitable bed, my dad affirmed the importance of investing in my family, above seminary and ministry initiatives. He shared how he wished he would have spent more time connecting with neighbours.
For someone so godly and heroic, I took that as an affirmation to continue pursuing a small group and hosting events in our community.
While I love camping and adventures with my family and getaways with my husband, I am grateful we can express and bless beyond our four walls.
This willingness to give and serve gives our children an abundance mentality, which is part of our family values.
The family values we are encouraging our children to live by are three simple but powerful values:
Pray
Encourage
Give
These three values play a vital part in being part of God’s Kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10) and will strengthen our hearts as we practice and reflect on sacred rhythms, season by season!
Bibliography
Barton, Ruth Haley. Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2006.
Buchanan, Mark. God Walk: Moving at the Speed of Your Soul. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020.
Buchanan, Mark. Spiritual Rhythm: Being with Jesus Every Season of Your Soul. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010.
Chittister, Joan. Radical Spirit: 12 Ways to Live a Free and Authentic Life. New York, NY: Convergent Books, 2017.
Macchia, Stephen. Crafting a Rule of Life: An Invitation to the Well-Ordered Way. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2012.