Something to Ponder …
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been settling into a new morning routine. Oh, I’ve tried different options over the last couple of months, but nothing has seemed to stick. Nothing has felt quite right. It could be that I had been spoiled. Oh, yes, that’s likely the case. For the two and a half years prior to me moving back home, each morning that I was in Schuyler I would rise early so I could join my Benedictine brothers for 6 AM prayer. I would drive four short miles up the hill for 30 minutes or so of prayer at the Mission House chapel, then pray-walk over to Saint Benedict Center and around the lake four times before driving back down the hill to start my day. To be honest, quite often I was thankful that my prayer partners all sat in the row ahead of me … so they might not notice I had literally rolled out of bed and thrown on clothes because of hitting the snooze button too many times. Routines. Patterns. Habits. We all have them I suppose. Those things we do, the actions we perform, that help keep us in balance. That provide stability in the uncertainty of our lives. Meeting with others for early morning prayer has done that for me. I need to connect with the Divine regularly, and deeply, to grow spiritually. I need to set aside time to receive as well as to give. And I need others to hold me accountable to do that. And so, now, when I rise in the morning … typically between 5 and 6, without an alarm … I close the bedroom door, make some hot tea, and let Arapahoe and Xian in (quietly, so they don’t wake up Papa). By the time they have greeted and wiggled all over me, then run down the hall to check the bedroom door, I have my mug of tea in hand, and we are ready to settle down in the living room. I, in my recliner with a book. My accountability partners, pretending to sleep until I have gotten my spiritual food for the day. Then it’s out the door for our prayer-walk. And you know what? I think this is gonna stick. Routines. Rituals. Rhythms. I pray that you have found yours. Grace and peace … --Pastor Pat
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Pastor
|