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A Mother's Rule 'Schedule' is like Phonics Instruction...
When we are beginning reading instruction, we teach a child his phonetic sounds and symbols - all the little pieces and parts that make up words - so that he can de-code those words and read them. So too, A Mother's Rule of Life tries to go over all the little parts of the married vocation that we need to attend to, so that we can live a healthy and holy marriage. Our practical rule - the schedule- then becomes to 'training tool' to turn our hearts to our vocation, and teach us how to do it all consistently and well.
But with phonics, there comes a time when the child stops overtly decoding words, takes a 'leap' and begins reading! Usually, we discontinue phonics instruction because the child is doing this automatically and habitually. But now, he is focusing on the meaning of the words and the concepts behind them. So too with our schedules - there comes a point when the "12:00 Lunch" ceases to be our main concern. We automatically move into making lunch, but we're not so concerned with the 'schedule'. Instead, we find ourselves focusing on the meaning inherent within our vocations - the relationships we have with God, our husbands and our children.
Do we stop following the schedule? No, not completely, but there is more flexibility because the schedule has become automatic, a 'habit' - we naturally are fulfilling our daily duties. Instead, we desire and seek to live the meaning inherent within the vocation - the 'spirit' of our Mother's Rule. This is the most important aspect of A Mother's Rule of Life...
posted by Holly at 3:40 PM
1 Comments:
A friend of mine had to put her rule schedule away the other day. She was spending time with her oldest daughter (aged 6) in a meaningful conversation. But the daughter, who now knows how to tell time, was uncomfortable. "Mummy!! The schedule says lunch at 12:30!!! We've got to get up and make lunch!!!"
My friend tried to explain that it was OK - that talking to her daughter about important things was more important than lunch at 12:30. "We can get to lunch now that we're finished - it's only 12:40," she pointed out. The child's little mind found it a bit hard to grasp.
I think it's possible for us Moms to experience a temptation to rigidity too. I think it has to do with the shift from 'law' to 'love', from 'legalism' to 'freedom'. The spirit of the mother's rule - where we are intent on fulfilling God's Will, and fostering loving and tender relationships with our family, goes 'above' the schedule times.
Our problem as Moms, depending on our spiritual state and personal growth, is finding the appropriate flexibility according to our family needs and our own personal understanding of our vocations. We need to find the 'middle line' between rigid adherence to the schedule and having no schedule at all! The schedule is there to help us train ourselves in good habits aimed at fulfilling the vocation, but the vocation itself is all about love...
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