The 1-1-1
A Sustainable Rhythm
Are you mindlessly stumbling through your days and weeks?
Do you find yourself rushing from place to place?
I cannot remember where I read it, but I remember being struck that Mother Teresa and her Sisters Of Charity take 1 day a week, 1 week a month, and 1 month a year in renewing and restorative rest. When I first added this up I was astonished! They spent 4 1/3 months out of the year focused on loving God and on good self care in order to spend the remaining 7 2/3 months caring for the poor.
They developed a sustainable rhythm which also gave them the ability to have an unswerving energy and focus of priority. Even in a “typical” day—only 7 ½ of their waking hours were devoted to caring for the poor while the remaining 16 ½ hours of the day were devoted to mealtimes, rest, play, and prayer.
Most of us are not ministering to the dying on the streets of India. We do not delve into meeting the needs of the physically and socially impoverished people like so many good ministries do. And yet, dying, impoverished souls are not unfamiliar to us at reFresh. Unfortunately, many of us complain about being too tired, overwhelmed, and not living in restful rhythms. For us, far too often the dying, impoverished souls we encounter are the ones of those who ARE in ministry—who are ministering justice, love, and care to people without hope. We feel confident of our role in the body of Christ: we are a bit like mechanics to missionaries and pastors and the good folk who seek to love and honor God in their lives.
As reFresh journeyed through it's 7th year in 2014-2015, we let the ground of most of our ministry opportunities lie fallow, and we sought to incorporate a sustainable rhythm of 111 into our lives. Our desire, always, is to practice what we preach. As we thinned out our schedules, we found room in our souls for God, for deeper relationships, and for personal growth.
It was totally audacious, felt a little selfish and often times ridiculous...I like what my friend Alicia Chole says about rest: “It is far less a reward for faithfulness and far more a prerequisite for fruitfulness.” We continue to pray for the fruitfulness that has come from our intention to rest and live in sustainable rhythms of faith.
The reordering of our days was sloppy and very imperfect. There was much trepidation in facing "expansive" margin. We took a lot of stumbling steps forward only to fall on our bums and get up and lean more deeply into the unknown places in our lives.
During our time, some of us literally took 1 day a week in Sabbath reFreshment...and 1 week a month in Sabbath reFreshment and 1 month out of the year. For others, we asked, “What do I sense deep within is one way each week, one thing each month and one longer thing this year that I can intentionally seek reFreshment in your Love and Beauty and Rest?”
Regardless of our individual 111 rhythm, these moments and days were not, primarily, devoted to work, but rather devoted to our families, community, and enjoying God and His creation. Not only that, Paula fell in love, got engaged, and married during this time. How wonderful to have the extra space for all the newness to her own life! Perhaps making that space made the room for Paula to have new in her life.
As you are aware of your own schedule and demands, would you consider asking the deep-knowing, body-resonant part of your soul:
What is 1 way per week that I can intentionally rest/re-create/be restored in my body and soul?
What is 1 way per month that I might stop the normal rush in order to linger, saunter, and frolic with my family, friends, and self?
What might be 1 extended way I can set aside time with with yourself during this year?
Join us at our facebook page to share in our community of slowing down, being gentle with ourselves and our souls, and learning to live in more sustainable 111 rhythms.
If you’d like some daily prompts & practices to learn to slow down—check out my free online course, “21 days to unhurryUp! Your Hustle” where I give you some creative ways to pause, pay attention, and play.
For great books on unhurrying and finding a sustainable rhythm in life and/or incorporating Sabbath with your friends and family—please check out the Good Reads page.