Reflections

September Reflection

Setting your Rhythm

I read a very brief article recently about how to find your rhythm in life, and it recommended the following:

Define Your Priorities.

Time-Block Like a Pro.

Let Go of Perfect.

Check In with Yourself.

Celebrate the Little Wins.

I especially like suggestions three and five.  I can be a terrible control freak, always wanting  everything to be perfect.  As a result I can wear myself out worrying and fussing over every action, terrified that I will make a mistake or let everyone down.  I would do well to heed the advice of the writer Voltaire who apparently said, “”Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good”.

Then there is suggestion 5.  While writing this article I am thinking of a lady I met recently called Clare.  She is plagued by both anxiety and depression but she doesn’t give in.  She’s afraid to go on public transport and yet travels all the way to Sheffield by train to see her son.  She gets anxious about using a phone, yet is training herself to pick up the receiver and make the call.  There are many little wins like that:

Dressing and cleaning a loved one who is too sick to look after themselves

Getting out of bed and facing another difficult day at work so that you can feed your family

Pushing through another day of mind numbing grief

Showing continuous love to an ungrateful child

The little wins may not be seen or celebrated, but they are no less spectacular.

For Jesus, rest was a big part of his rhythm of life.  He would often withdraw from his busy ministry to be with God and to experience times of refreshment and stillness. Indeed, as a good Jew he would be aware that when God created the world  the Bible it says that he rested on the seventh day.  Jesus himself makes a very tender offer to everyone who follows him: “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest for your souls”.

Or to put it another way, let Jesus find your rhythm.