God’s rhythm [Hanre Douglas]
If you’ve read some of my previous posts, you would agree that I learn a lot from other people. I think that’s why I love people so much! And sometimes love them a lot less… I’m sorry!
Words that I hear often are words like focus, balance, discern and rhythm. Or maybe it’s just me using them all the time!
I spoke to a friend of mine who says that what he needs in his life right now is balance and rhythm. And that became our goal during our visits together.
On a daily basis, a friend who’s in a medical profession, encounters patients that are so much out of balance and rhythm, that they are literally physically and mentally deflated… According to her, they violate the 888-principle: 8 hours of work (for example what you do or get paid for), 8 hours for yourself (for example your spiritual life, hobbies, social) and 8 hours sleep (for example sleep!). Apparently that’s the ideal and as humans we would function at our optimum if we respect this principle. But many of her young adult patients tell her that they cope. Medically however, if you put yourself through enough ‘coping’, it will have a definite negative effect on you and even your relationships. Some of these effects might be stress, depression, anger outbursts and even heart attacks.
I think you would agree with me that it would probably be best if we’re in sync with God’s rhythm. My opinion is that God sometimes helps us in the process of getting in sync. For instance when you get sick, it might be your body crying out to you that it needs rest. I can definitely think of times that I was actually forced to do nothing, because of sickness.
Then there’s also the ‘unforeseen happenings’. Little (or big!) things that leaves you completely engulfed with time… and you can do nothing that you planned! It might be power failures, it might be technological problems, it might be car problems, it might be cancelled appointments. Whatever it is, suddenly you have time on your hands, and you don’t know what to do with it… Maybe God knows what He plans for you in the future, and He needs you to spend some time with Him in preparation for it. Maybe He wants to spend time with you just for the sake of it. Or maybe, just maybe He knows how long it’s been since you last spoiled yourself with whatever you like, and He created some time for you to do just that!
Why is it so difficult for me (us?) to do that? I think it’s because we try to live up to a standard set to us, a standard that’s not necessarily God’s standard and maybe totally out of sync with God’s rhythm. I once spoke to someone who told me that his company’s busiest time is over Decembers, the time everyone wants to rest. His experience was that God’s rhythm for his company was not in sync with the normal standard everyone else embraced. Rather difficult don’t you think? A bit strange maybe. But isn’t there a scripture somewhere that says we’re not from this world? Actually in this world we will be like aliens and strangers.
So maybe our challenge is to swim upstream a little bit. Not for the sake of being difficult or weird, but for the sake of being in sync with God’s rhythm. I believe will benefit from it: body, mind and soul.
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