About a year ago I began using a liturgical planner. As I began using it the first task was to create a Rule of Life. Here is the explanation of that task written by the creator of the planner, Jenn Giles Kemper:
“A rule of life is a commitment to live your life in a particular way. It is meant to be crafted with prayer and discernment, in partnership with God, as you consider the way God made you and the values inscribed upon your heart. Once written, it serves as a tool that can help you make decisions for your life and determine how best to order your days.
The first example of a Christian rule of life came from the Desert Fathers, a monastic community of mystics living in Egypt around the third century AD. The most well-known rule is the rule of St. Benedict, written fifteen hundred years ago, which was created to help his community of monks translate their faith into the habits and rhythms of their shared daily life. His famous rule has inspired many communities and individuals to develop their own rules with a similar intention.
Our English word rule is derived from the Latin regula, meaning “a straight piece of wood,” “a ruler,” and, by extension, “a pattern, model, or example.” Esther de Waal, a longtime student of monastic spirituality, writes that “regula, a feminine noun, carries gentle connotations: a signpost, a railing, something that gives me support as I move forward in my search for God.” A rule of life, then, serves as a gentle guide that keeps you trained toward God.
In this way, a rule of life is different than the goals, intentions, or resolutions we tend to set for ourselves. Those methods are task-based and measurable, and they’re often focused on what we do. A rule of life, on the other hand, helps you become. It is comprised of several simple statements that guide the posture of your life and the living of your days. It is not lived perfectly but can be lived faithfully while fostering within you an integrated and embodied life of faith.
Most of us do not belong to communities, monastic or otherwise, that give us a rule to follow, but all communities and families share values and expectations, whether or not they are clearly articulated, and these values and expectations form us, often without our awareness. By crafting a rule of life, we become intentional about the forces and dynamics that shape who we are becoming.”
As Advent comes again, the first season of the Christian year it is time for me to resist my rule of life and contemplate the ways it has shaped me over the past year and adjust it as I live ever more into God’s call for my life.
Here is my Rule of Life, written last Advent as a prayer. I think it’s time for a new form for the coming year. I hope sharing this may inspire you as you consider your own way forward in this new year.
I have been given this precious life and the holy essence of myself.
May I live a servant’s life.
May I bring light and love to the world.
May I reflect and remember that you are my source, Holy God.
May I lay down anxiety and fear.
May I forgive, yet not compromise your way.
May I sleep well, held in your grace.
May I rest fully, growing more as a result.
May I parent with kindness and compassion
May I admit my limits and say no well.
May I make my home environment serene.
God you guide me from the shadows, calling my name and wishing for me to be the most Eilidh I can be. Help me to support Jeff to be his best self as I walk my own path to more deeply follow you.
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