Though I am a growing fan of habits, routines, and rituals, I have not been much of a practitioner most of my life. Friends marvel when I tell them that I do not have the same morning or bedtime routine every day. I have a general way of doing things, but the time can fluctuate by as much as 15-minutes, my teeth brushing may happen before or after the shower, and speaking of the shower, sometimes I shower at night and sometimes in the morning.
But that’s not even the best example of what I’m talking about. When I drive somewhere, I often try to find a different route home. When I clean, I go in circles, picking up some laundry in the bedroom, remembering to take the trash out before the laundry is dropped off, wiping down the bathroom sinks which I thought of as I was gathering the trash, etc. By the time I’ve made 7-8 circles around the house, it’s usually clean.
As I grow older and observe more people, however, I am realizing that most of the people I want to be like have a general pattern to their lives. And that general pattern provides the stability and predictably I want so desperately to characterize my life. I want to be a “known” quantity to those around me, not a loose cannon, not a fly by night.
I’m reading Ruth Haley Barton’s Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation about establishing a “rule of life” (as the church fathers and mothers called it). Basically, this book is about ordering our lives in such a way to allow God the most room to move and breathe in us. It’s about establishing spiritual disciplines, but it’s about more than that.
As I see it, the peace I am seeking is about much more than when I brush my teeth or when I read my Bible. It’s about creating a predictable order so that each part of my life fits with the others – all the priorities God has given me working together in harmony.
Here’s an example: I recognized two things over the weekend that I need to spend more DAILY time on. Keeping up with the dishes, laundry and housework. And prayer. So last night, as I decided to do one dish drainer of dishes, even if that didn’t get the whole job done, I also realized that washing dishes by hand leaves a lot of time for thinking, planning and praying. The same is true about folding laundry and raking leaves. A part of my rule of life may include spending 15 minutes a day sitting quietly and praying and another 15 minutes a day praying while I clean. A wholistic approach to a spiritually disciplined life.
How do you order your day? What disciplines do you integrate into your life to give Jesus space to move.
Hey Char,
Apparently changing up your routine and doing things differently creates new pathways in your brain and helps stave off dementia/alzheimers! You and Jon will both remember everything then when you visit me in the nursing home 😉
Sara — I saw your post on Rituals recently too. Sounds like we’re thinking in the same direction.
Laura — I’ve heard that learning new things helps your mind stay fresh. I didn’t realize it applied to altered routines. I guess I don’t need to get rid of ALL my idiosyncracies.
Shel — Invitation to Solitude and Silence by the same author is also really good.
Charity,
It sounds like a great book to read – I think I need to add it to my pile of “to be read.” Thanks for the though provoking post.
On the bright side, an altered routine is more likely to stave off dementia… so keep circling, without guilt. 🙂
How do I do “disciplines”? Hmmm… it’s the tooth brushing thing. If I read my bible while I brush, I actually get about 2-3 chapters read! And, dishes are a big privacy time for me. Nobody wants to get too close, for fear of being assigned a chore… this leaves me to my thoughts (and sometimes prayers).
That book looks like one I should add to my library list…thanks for sharing!