Well the fact that the deadline (August 25th) came and went without us even realizing our experiment was over might be a telling clue as to how well it went! It's true. In many ways we allowed life to overwhelm us, living comfortably in our old habits rather than make the effort to renew our minds. If looked at closely, there were many failures over the last seven weeks. But there were also some small victories. Lessons were learned.
Ever since becoming a parent, my big philosophy has been "respect the power of the boundary and routine"! Even as infants my children responded to the swaddle. I could see it in their eyes. The boundary of the blanket gave them security and comfort. As Grayson is going through his difficult toddler phase, nothing works as well to calm those tantrums than a little alone time in his crib. Similarly, nothing gets my kids back to their normal happy selves like a good routine. Holiday, sickness, vacation, whatever it is that throws things out of whack, apply a little routine and we're all back to our normal, happy selves.
I guess my take away from this experiment is that I am the same way. The boundaries God gives us really are for our benefit. Celebrating the Sabbath, for example, is not some rule intended to suck the fun out of life. It really is a gift. God knows how easily we will overwork ourselves and how important it is for our physical bodies and for our souls to take the time to rest. We need the breathing room. We need to worship. It's what we were made for and we thrive within that boundary.
I'm not sure where we are going to go from here. I don't want to jump into the next thing all willy nilly, so I guess I am in a place of listening right now. Regardless of where God leads us next, I feel a subtle change has occurred in my heart that I think will be more and more clear as I continue to grow closer to the Lord.
Ever since becoming a parent, my big philosophy has been "respect the power of the boundary and routine"! Even as infants my children responded to the swaddle. I could see it in their eyes. The boundary of the blanket gave them security and comfort. As Grayson is going through his difficult toddler phase, nothing works as well to calm those tantrums than a little alone time in his crib. Similarly, nothing gets my kids back to their normal happy selves like a good routine. Holiday, sickness, vacation, whatever it is that throws things out of whack, apply a little routine and we're all back to our normal, happy selves.
I guess my take away from this experiment is that I am the same way. The boundaries God gives us really are for our benefit. Celebrating the Sabbath, for example, is not some rule intended to suck the fun out of life. It really is a gift. God knows how easily we will overwork ourselves and how important it is for our physical bodies and for our souls to take the time to rest. We need the breathing room. We need to worship. It's what we were made for and we thrive within that boundary.
I'm not sure where we are going to go from here. I don't want to jump into the next thing all willy nilly, so I guess I am in a place of listening right now. Regardless of where God leads us next, I feel a subtle change has occurred in my heart that I think will be more and more clear as I continue to grow closer to the Lord.
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