Help
With Your Rule
When Real Life "Interrupts"
Dear Holly,
God in his awesome wisdom has given me an "early lesson" in the execution of my mothers rule. The next day after I emailed you about establishing my mother's rule and feeling pretty confident and "proud of myself", I went in to wake up my son and found him covered in vomit! I cleaned him up and got him dressed thinking it was just something he ate. So I was bound and determined to "keep my rule" and we were going to Mass. With his brother in his car seat and he in his coat, gloves and hat, more vomit came! So I took that as my sign.
After a morning of even more sickness, after I got him back to bed, I was presented with a choice to abandon the rule all together for the day or to continue with the rest of my day as planned. So I just picked up where we left off and kept to the rule. I learned two valuable lessons. (1) That again I am not in control but God is!! And (2) just because my morning doesn't go as "planned" doesn't mean I have to just abandon the rest of the day all together. When I miss something, just pick up and keep on. More challenges will come I am sure but with His Grace and determination in us, we can keep our Rule faithfully. It is not so much about keeping a "schedule" but about displaying our faithfulness to our husbands, children and ultimately God!
Labels: About a Rule of Life
posted by Holly at 8:04 AM
2 Comments:
Thank you for this lovely post! I was struck by two things.
1. A difficult morning is no reason to 'abandon the rule' - so so true. I find that there are a thousand ways I can make excuses, but the key is to realize that one cup of spilled milk doesn't mess the whole kitchen! (And of course, we all realize that your care for your son in this case WAS the exercise of the 4th P.)
At the same time, this is a good opportunity for you to determine what is essential to your day and what is not. What MUST be done in the event interruption occurs, and what is not so necessary -
For me, my prayer times are essential. If something comes in to interrupt a normal day, I must ensure that I complete those prayer times, to the best of my ability, before I engage in any leisure or unnecessary things. So, if a child's sickness caused me to miss morning prayer, then when he naps, before I hop on the computer, I have determined that I must go back and finish that morning prayer time before email replies.
All my personal responsibilities to God in prayer, to spending time with my husband, and to my children must come before my own free time or even housework.
2. What struck me about your post, is that you have discerned that the heart of the rule is not just keeping a schedule, but about faithfulness. Yes - fidelity is the KEY motivation and practical attitude behind a rule - fidelity to God's desire and request for you in your particular daily circumstances.
Consistency in our vocation and daily rule is really a faithfulness issue...
Just earlier I posted this on my blog and I think it goes perfectly with this discussion...
"Lenten Reflections by Henri JM Nouwen
Interruptions are not disruptions of you way to holiness, but rather are places where you are being molded and formed into the person God calls you to be."
I think if everything went 'perfectly' all the time we'd be tempted to think that it was because of our own doing instead of being completly reliant on God's grace and we'd never learn anything...so there are loops and bumps on the road...that is when a 'rule' becomes even more important. I for one tend to 'freeze' when I hit a bump on the road and I get left not even knowing which way to turn. A rule points the way.
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