Our children are back to school now and life is settling back into the recognisable term-time pattern. For me, the start of this particular term of each year is a time in which I take stock and look at my life's rhythm.
This summer became of wonderful tapestry of visiting friends, enjoying holiday time as a family, reorganising my office and celebrating my daughter's ninth birthday. Oh and we also managed to squeeze in our church's big outreach event.
It was such a great few months – and yet we didn't get a chance to draw breath at all. My husband and I commented that we hadn't had any evenings on our own; we celebrated our 21<sup>st anniversary towards the end of the summer holidays and in my card to him I asked whether we could really try and pace ourselves this term!
I am now sitting surrounded by all the work I've kept simmering away while the kids were off school, but which I now need to tackle in earnest. I'm so grateful for the work, but taking a break to focus on the kids means there's rather a big stack of it now!
Of course, the start of the autumn term is also usually the time that churches launch new initiatives and ours is no different. So, as I'm sure you can gather, it's a busy time of year for us as a family.
With everything that has been going on, and which I know is coming up, I've had some moments when I have literally felt the panic rising up, trying to overtake me. I am, for instance, about to start a leadership training course. The material looks great but I'm wondering how I will cope with it all and fit in enough time to mull over and implement what I learn.
In those times of panic I've had to come back to God and ask for His wisdom. Of course, some of that is obvious common sense – I need to look after my family and myself in order to be able to serve consistently. So I know I/we need to look at the rhythm of our lives and make changes before we burn out.
It's time to find a sustainable, godly rhythm – to pare back to the essentials and only build back in what we know God is calling us to do. It's easier said than done though – especially when there are already people emailing and texting asking for possible dates for meetings. I've also had some fantastically interesting work possibilities put to me in the last week. All good things, but too easy to say yes to without prayerfully considering their impact...
I wonder: how many of you embark on new hobbies/interests/Bible reading plans etc in the autumn term? For many it has become a second New Year in the way that resolutions are set. And, while those things are good in and of themselves, we mustn't let our lives get too crowded.
I am very conscious that we are 'doing' people and can allow ourselves to get too busy. I also know that it is very easy to go too far the other way and drop everything when it all seems too much. Each of us needs to find that rhythm that is unique to us, which God has given us. Some can cope with, or even thrive on, a faster pace of life; others need to take things more slowly. Neither one is better than the other – we're just different (it's taken me a while to understand that one!).
But whether each of us is a fast, medium or slow-pace person, the most fundamental ingredient we need in the rhythm of our lives is the voice of God. If we're too busy, or too zoned out, to hear Him then we've missed the plot. There's no point working so hard as we're working in vain if we're not doing what He called us to do. I don't know about you but I so don't want to miss the mark like that – even though I know I have in the past.
A quick glance at my calendar shows me that life is still going to be busy, but I'm determined to ensure that I work on my rhythm this term. I think that will mean actually writing into my diary evenings that are set aside for God, my husband and my family before all the church and work calendar dates are finalised.
What about you? How do you feel your life rhythm is? Why not consider this seriously today and decide whether you need to make any changes to your own life's pattern.
