Routines to Rhythms

For a long time I didn’t appreciate the importance of a routine. Actually, I don’t know that I even recognized a pattern.

My mom used to always say “kids need to be kept in a routine.“ They thrive in structure. That some organized (chaos) play time is needed for children to learn and routines are needed for safety. It’s when kids feel safe that they blossom, they become, they bewilder, they behold, they…..be. And that’s what childhood’s for: the becoming. Now it’s all alarm clocks and water intake. As adults, it’s in the routines of the ordinary we can still be all these things.

So what’s the big deal?

Why does this all even matter? I think we are meant to live a life that is more than routine. It’s as if we’re either sprinting or sleep walking, running late or not running at all. None of us were meant to nearly survive a chaotic or mundane existence. No matter who you are, there is a routine that you live in.  A friend of mine posted online today that we don’t need to wait until the new year to….. (fill in the blank). 

Webster’s dictionary defines rhythm as: “a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound”. On the other hand, Routine is defined as “a sequence of actions regularly followed; a fixed program.”

What if we thought of our time spent with God as a rhythm versus a routine,  as a strong, regular, repeated pattern of meeting with our Creator? Rhythm makes me think of sound and sway. Good music creates a response of reactive movement. What if we spent time learning the sway of our Savior? The melody of meditation with the Almighty, the poetic peace of the Prince?

I think we’d be different human BEings. I think we’d stop rushing to DO the “quiet time” as a chore. The morning devotional would be less an obligation and more devotion. The worship time would be more Davidic – laughing, leaping, dancing, weeping – raw and real, less congested with our own words and more filled with God’s presence. David was a king, “a man after God’s own heart” and wrote endlessly about the evolution of his worship and walk with God. David leaned into the movement of God, learned the rhythm. Because before he was all this (and even at points after) he was a forgotten son, a hunted man, and murder. A routine would not have sustained the depth of his relationship with God. And nor will it for us. 

“Bet, but how?”

Here’s what’s worked for me:

1. Journal 
2. Pray
3. Listen
4. Read

Don’t sleep on journaling. What may have once been referred to as a diary can actually be a real safe haven. Personally, I think of journaling as a means of written conversation to God. It’s far more than an account of my day but really an ongoing conversation between God and I. Now I know, some will be like “sis, that’s praying” – and true, some of it is. But to me, journaling centralizes my thoughts and grounds my heart. It helps me to capture feelings and emotions, questions and doubts in a place I can always return to. I write in the first person (I, my, etc.) directed to God and it’s become my favorite rhythm. It’s not a program at all but much more personal. It has intensity and strength. I often think about how Adam walked and talked with God in the cool of the day. How close you have to be to stroll with someone. How even when he and Eve hid it’s because they heard God coming. They even knew God’s sound! Imagine knowing how the footsteps of God sound. His stride, his pace. That’s intimacy. 

For me, journaling is the garden, and writing is the stroll. 

Prayer is as simple or as complicated as we make it out to be. There are a ton of different “ways” to pray but my favorites are through journaling (as mentioned above), meditation (on scripture or subject), and just sitting with God allowing the Holy Spirit to guide me. When I was struggling to quiet my mind in prayer for a while, my dad told me to empty myself. I was like “wait, whet?!”. He told me God could handle it, to just spill all my rambling thoughts. To take deep breaths and tell the Lord all that was on my mind. From errands to mistakes to funny memes to hurt. God wants to hear it all. And once I was empty, I was freed to get into meaningful thankfulness. Heartfelt repentance. Sincere requests. Holy listening. Question asking. Challenge receiving. Hurt healing.

And that was my rhythm: to be emptied and filled. 

Listening is so powerful. Don’t you dare skip this section. To be heard is an invitation to be understood, seen, felt, validated, pursued. And God listens to us. We in turn need to listen to Him. In prayer and in worship, in thought and in action. The rhythm here, the movement here, is to always be ear-hustling heaven. We limit God speaking to only when we pray or at church when in all actuality, God is always speaking! It’s laughable to think God won’t speak while we shop, or wash dishes, or swim, or even sleep. God spoke to Moses through a bush and led the Israelites by a cloud. When we unleash ourselves from programs regimented to specific times and places we can tap in to the flow of God, no moment is wasted. And be clear, what we listen to is just as important. We can’t continue to be plugged in to the new releases only but not feeding our spirit. Listen to sermons, bible studies, audio bibles, podcasts etc that will stir your mind and point to Christ. We must disconnect from the trivial. We orchestrate whole playlists to set the tone for when we’re getting dressed, in the car, on the train etc.

Why not take the same care when preparing to hear from God?

Finally, read! Read your bible. Become familiar with it. Allow it to challenge and shape you. Investigate and interrogate the text. What is going on in this story? How is this applicable to me today? Why are these people acting like this? We will read the news, read posts on social media, read up on strategic stock strategy and never once read the love letter written for us: the Bible. While nothing beats the feel of a printed copy in hand that you can highlight, notate and literally lean into, the Youversion Bible App has made reading the bible so incredibly easy and interactive. (One of my goals is to be featured, sharing this blog!) I’ve come to rely on the featured Verse of the Day as a part of my morning rhythm. I spend time reading and writing the things I observe while walking through the bible. When reading feels dry,  I listen. I’m currently listening to Exodus, in a different version than I typically read.

It’s given fresh breath to a text I had become too familiar with in one setting.

I hope the tone has been set. 

I hope you can see the difference. 

May your routine be refreshed and reawakened.  

I needed a shift in perspective. I think my mom was right, when I was a child I needed a routine. But as an adult, who wants a full, intimate walk with God, I needed more than a program. 

I needed a strong, regular, repeated pattern. 

I needed a flow that was both receptive and reactive. 

I wanted to deepen my relationship. 

I want God’s heart, and it beats to a rhythm.

xo – Leesh