Rhythm

It’s a big part of what makes the world go round really. The various rhythms in which we live our lives give us the unheard beat that is needed in order to sustain. A daily, weekly and monthly pattern that is meant to help keep us in balance. Some rhythms are more balanced than others, and some more sparratic. Some are healthy, and some unhealthy, but the essentials are always present. Eating and drinking, human contact, work, rest, and entertainment are at the core of most peoples schedules. They are all things that we are so used to as a part of our rhythm that we tend to not think about them much. The problem with these basics, as healthy as they are, is that they are empty without one crucial element. Soul food. A connect to our maker, a seeking, a serving, a striving to feed our souls and relationship with the creator. God intended life to have a rhythm I think... ours just tends to be a little backwards compared to the one he desires for us. I just happen to notice for myself, how easily my rhythm wears me out... the essentials are there, but there never seems to be balance. Any one thing in excess or extreme lack tends to throw everything into the unpleasant catagory. For example, when I’m working too much, it affects my rest, cheapens my human contact, makes me over eat or under eat and leads me to be absorbed in entertainment to an unhealthy extent. Or when I’m not getting enough healthy human contact, I tend to feel down and depressed, which in turn affects my work performance and causes me to turn to food as a companion. I’ve come to realize that my rhythm is seldom a healthy one... and being here at Bethanie has shed a great light on that.

Bits of God are thrown into my schedule here and there, and I have moments of peace... moments where things feel balanced, but basing my rhythm in worship, prayer, and the word have honestly never been that appealing to me. Like doing a homework assignment before play time, my mentality has always been ‘let’s get this out of the way so that I can get onto the fun things’. I still struggle with this... but I’m at a place where I have the rhythm to work on it. Every day here the first 30-45 minutes are spent in prayer, there’s regular worship times, and biblical/self study times as well. But more than anything, the things done here are done from a heart of thanksgiving and worship. From the working to the writing, to the food preparation, to the eating... it’s all done from a different core. Acknowledging God in the simple things. Having him as the baseline for the rhythm. I like this. Now that I’m in this routine and will be for the next few months, I hope and pray that this carries with me when I return home. There’s simply more peace and deeper rest... which affects every other element in a positive way.