Our Rhythms Are Meant To Be An Invitation—Not a Cage
Brooke here. Tomorrow we'll finish up Week 2 of our Formation Foundations: Rhythms series. Last week we talked about the rhythms of our days, and this week we've been talking about the rhythms of our weeks. Our hope is that the series as a whole helps you cultivate sustainable—and sustaining—rhythms of life.
Over the past few months, Team Sacred Ordinary Days has adopted a shared weekly rhythm, with certain days set aside for specific focuses—collaboration and communication, deep work, planning ahead, catching up. It's evolved over time, and it doesn't always go according to plan, but those shared rhythms have been a gift to us—especially as so much of the rest of our days and routines feel uncertain and outside our control.
Here's what that shared weekly rhythm looks like right now:
- Momentum Monday: Focused on thinking ahead & minimizing bottlenecks and roadblocks
- Teamwork Tuesday: Actively collaborating and communicating with other team members
- Deep Work Wednesday: Focused, deep work with as little context switching as possible
- See It Through Thursday: Sharing and responding to the fruit of our deep work and tying up loose ends
- Forward Friday: Finishing strong for the current week and setting up for success in the week to come
(calendar and photo from the amazing crew at Lindsay Letters)
Outside of work, I have my own weekly rhythms with chunks of time set aside for a specific purpose or person. I set aside time each week for my work, for connecting with my daughter and husband, for tending to the house, for preparing meals, for moving my body, for being with friends, etc...
Usually, those rhythms serve me well. Sometimes they don't. In reflecting on my rhythms this week, I was surprised to find a little resentment simmering under the surface of my cheerful productivity. Here are the hours that belong to this or that thing, I found myself thinking. The hours that belong to my job, the hours that belong to Keith and to Addie, the hours that belong to other relationships, to household chores, to study and prayer, to everything and everyone else.
I found myself wondering, where are the hours that are mine?
One of the gifts of reflection is the ability to see patterns forming—and to course-correct if necessary. I was staggered by what I saw. In portioning out those efficiently allocated chunks of my life, I'd begun thinking of time as "belonging" to those things. They all felt so important (and they are important), but I'd focused in on them so much I was blind to the rest of the picture.
Our rhythms are meant to be an invitation—not a cage. We find freedom in knowing who God is, in remembering who—and whose—we are, and in recognizing time for what it really is.
- Who God Is — Creator of the universe, Maker of heaven and earth. The only One to whom time belongs.
- Who—and Whose—We Are — Child of God. Image bearer. Fully known. Entirely beloved.
- What Time Is — Gift and grace. Freely offered. For us.
We belong to the God of the universe, Maker of heaven and earth. That same God is also Maker of our hearts—acquainted with every grief, Author of every longing. Every inch of us is fully known and loved. We receive the gift of time on this earth as grace. By it, we bless and are blessed. We are invited into time—to work and prayer, to rest and delight—for our own sake and for the sake of those with whom we share it.
May we carry these truths with us, and may the cadence of our rhythms reflect the grace of such a gift.
Alongside you,
P. S. Our Academic Planners sold out last Thursday, but don't worry—2021 Liturgical Edition Planners will go on sale Sept. 1st. In case you're looking to transition from the academic edition to the liturgical one, we've got a Transition Planner PDF to help you bridge the gap between August and Advent.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, OUR WACO WAREHOUSE IS NOW OPEN
AT THE TOP OF MY READING LIST
It's a widely known fact that I love all things books and reading. I'm almost salivating over all the new offerings in our shop this week. Here are four in particular that I can't wait to get my hands on. Each one feels like it holds and invitation I've been longing for lately. Maybe you feel that way, too?
