The normal rhythms of life that I have come to rely on and need in order to keep my sanity have been thrown into the abyss of chaos. The past couple of weeks I have begun the work of taking stock of just how out of rhythm life has become. And my conclusion: the picture isn’t pretty.
I’m not really sure how it got to this point, (I’m not sure we ever do), but one thing is for sure it’s affected a lot more than I would care to admit.
As I began to assess the full the picture of my life I’ve noticed how this unsustainable rhythm has negatively affected a great deal of my relationships… and our community. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time that I was fully present, fully engaged with the person I was with. Often times it was because I was too tired to function properly. Whereas other times I was already concentrating on the next meeting/appointment: how I was getting there and what we were supposed to be talking about, etc. The more I lived this way, the more ridiculously “normal” it became. At one point the realization came to me: “The unsustainable rhythms you are trying to keep are doing nothing but hurting yourself, your marriage, your community, and your friends… to keep this up is not only silly stupid at its best, but sinful at its worst.”
So, I woke up to the realization that to continue was simply a sinful mess.
This is no way to live.
Two weeks ago I began to put into practice some simple boundaries for my life that would ease my schedule, give me rest, build some margin and create a sustainable rhythm for life. This hasn’t been easy–I’m trying to break a year long rhythm of un-sustainability–but it’s making a huge difference.
The first step was to simply “Reclaim the morning”. I sit down with a cup of coffee, Bible, and my journal and have re instituted what I call “Breakfast with Jesus.” It’s a quiet time of prayer, of meditation, of simply being still and hearing from God.
The second step has been to get my butt in gear and begin physical activity that has been sorely lacking. Running. I like to run. It clears my mind, reduces stress and anxiety and gives me a generally calm disposition.
The third step is to limit my schedule so that I can accomplish what needs to be accomplished. As a result I’m only taking on a maximum of 10 meetings per week. This is between 10-15 hours of my week instead of the 30 that it had become. I’m finding the space to get things done which has greatly reduced my stress… and is freeing up more time for me to spend with Tracy (the wife). This is extremely important to me.
And the fourth step, is re instituting date night with Tracy.
This will be a long process for myself, but one that will not only be extremely valuable for my sanity, but allow me to listen to and hear more from God and be a better husband, friend, and pastor.
I’ve created a twitter hashtag: #lifeinorder if you’d like to follow along with this journey or if you yourself would like to participate in getting your life back in order. I’d love the company!
Related posts:
- Danny MacAskill does it again… Life in Order
- Shiavo…what is life?
- Dog saves womans life by calling 911
- OH ME! OH LIFE!
- the fragility of life.
