Rhythm is very individual. You can’t impose a rhythm on somebody; you have to enter into a rhythm. And people don’t have to have the same rhythm. . . . Find the rhythm of your own body, your own life, your own history. . . . Live out who you are in relationship to who God is, who Jesus is.
EUGENE PETERSON
IT’S MIDNIGHT, AND IT’S happening again.
My heart feels heavy inside my chest, and my mind is in overdrive. I’m thinking about all the things I need to do to make sure I am raising my children well. I need to make sure I’m teaching them and preparing them for life.
I’m thinking about all my failures and the weight of my responsibilities. More thoughts push their way in. I need to get my home in order. I need to write my friend back. I need to turn in that article. I need to set aside time for my husband.
I don’t want to drop the ball, not again. But there are so many balls, and I’m not good at juggling. I just want to sleep . . .
Have you ever experienced anxiety that is triggered by all you have to do? When it hits me, it hits hard. But I’m learning to embrace the anxiety and let it be a teacher instead of a master.
Learning from Anxiety and Finding Rhythm
There is an ebb and flow to life, a rhythm, and even though we put things in order, life isn’t exactly a straight line. When we’re talking about priorities, it’s easy to divvy things up into a numerical order, but as life shifts and stretches, our circumstances may cause the order to move and change. Nonetheless, I think it is profitable to prioritize how we want to live so we can keep a pulse on how we’re doing, but I find that life is more in sync with rhythms than with straight-line priorities.
With that said, let’s talk about priorities and our rhythms.
If you’re anything like me, you have good intentions but you often fall short. For example, I always say God is first in my life, but is my life reflecting that? Do I spend time with the Lord each day? What does my prayer life look like? How much time is spent on hiding God’s Word in my heart? You can see where I’m going with this. It’s easy to say what our priorities are, but it’s not always easy to live them out.
With God’s grace and light to lead us, we can live out our rhythm priorities without shame or fear of failure.
We offer ourselves to God and ask His Spirit to help us, and then we walk into our days the best we can. Some days we’re limping, and some days we’re leaping, but we can always keep our heads high, turned toward the heavens, relying on the love from our Father to walk with us through the day. We are never alone.
Here are some priorities I hold close:
TIME WITH GOD
I want to be in communion with Him daily so I can keep on in His love and continue to grow, as the Word intersects with the Holy Spirit in me, maturing and helping me.
My work-in-progress goal
Spend time in the Word every morning, sometime before the day carries me away. If this doesn’t happen, I’ll read in the afternoon or when I have a few moments of quiet.
Verses to motivate me
His delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
PSALM 1:2-3
In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.
PSALM 5:3
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. MATTHEW 6:33
In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. MARK 1:35
MY HUSBAND
I want to be a faithful, life-giving wife, bringing help, comfort, and companionship to my husband. I want to be his biggest fan and his best friend.
My work-in-progress goal
Be quicker to listen and slower to speak. Be kind. Cuddle with him more.
Verses to motivate me
Her husband can trust her,
and she will greatly enrich his life.
She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
PROVERBS 31:11-12, NLT
Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. ECCLESIASTES 4:9-10
MY CHILDREN
My kids are my best buds. I love them and who God made them to be, and I am so thankful they are mine to raise. What a gift!
My goal is to love them well, show them grace and compassion, and instill in them truth and goodness and beauty.
I also want to teach my children how to behave because they will grow up and be a part of the world, and I want them to know how to act and love and contribute worthwhile things. I want them to shine with God’s light so they can be a part of bringing God’s Kingdom to bear on the earth. All of these lessons take time and intention. I also want to just have fun with them! Life is too short not to laugh and play.
My work-in-progress goal
Become more consistent in my cleaning so I can be freed up to spend time with the kiddos, not worrying about all I need to do. Bring them alongside me so they can learn to take care of their home as well. We are a team!
Verses to motivate me
Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.
DEUTERONOMY 6:7-8, MSG
Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
PROVERBS 22:6, ESV
MY HOME
I want a clean home, not a perfect home. I want to create an inviting place of comfort and peace. I want a place where my family feels secure and at rest.
My work-in-progress goal
Clean the kitchen every morning. When the kitchen is clean, I feel like I can take on anything!
Verses to motivate me
The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.
PROVERBS 14:1
She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
PROVERBS 31:27
Do all things without grumbling.
PHILIPPIANS 2:14
Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.
COLOSSIANS 3:23
MY GIFTS
I want to nurture and use my God-given gifts and talents to strengthen the church and be a light to the world around me.
My work-in-progress goal
Use my words carefully. Focus on loving and giving grace through my verbal and written words.
Verses to motivate me
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 PETER 4:10
PERSONAL
I want to carve out time to enjoy life and spend time with friends!
My work-in-progress goal
Take the time to read good books, write in my journal, and spend time with friends over delicious food.
Verses to motivate me
Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. ACTS 2:46-47
READ MATTHEW 22:37-40
What is the most important focus we should have as we go about our days?
Come up with a list of your priorities, but don’t number them. Write them down on the lines provided. Ask the Lord for the grace to keep them as best you can, and to begin again when you mess up. Each day is full of His mercies;[1] let’s not waste any of them by beating ourselves up.
MARTHA CHALLENGEWe are still in the kitchen (and still doing laundry)! For the love, let’s get it done.
TODAY WE ARE TACKLING THE FLOOR AND THE OUTSIDE OF THE CABINETS.
THE CABINETS
1. That’s right, it’s time to sweep and scrub those floors, but first, the cabinets.
2. Take a close look at the cabinet doors. Do you see the grime and stuck-on food? Go on, grab your sponge and get to work! And when you finish with the cabinets . . .
MOVE ON TO THE FLOOR
3. Do not even look at a handheld mop. Oh no, sister, you need a sponge or cleaning rag, a scrub brush, and a bucket full of hot soapy water. Get on your hands and knees. (If you use a gardening kneeling pad, it’s a tad more comfortable.) Clean those floors well! Attack those dried-up pieces of mac ’n’ cheese, the dust-covered Cheerio, and the . . . what is that? Get it too! Scrub, baby, scrub!
GET YOUR KIDS INVOLVED!
How about asking your child to help you? Give your recruit the sponge and the soapy water and let him or her wash the floors. I would have an older child (over six) do this, unless you want water everywhere (ask me how I know).
PAY YOUR CHILD
You could offer to pay your child to help if this is not one of his or her everyday chores. Fifty cents sounds about right for the floor and fifty cents for the cabinets. What do you think?
I don’t know about you, but I’ll take all the help I can get!
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens.
ECCLESIASTES 3:1, NIV
