A few months ago I had the opportunity to spend some time with Bruce Miller, the pastor of McKinney Fellowship in Dallas and the author of Your Life in Rhythm. Bruce introduced us to the idea of understanding life in rhythm instead of balance. I have to admit that at first I thought it was a bit of a semantic stretch until I read the book and was able to think through the concept. Through the book, Bruce really sold me on the idea. This Sunday I will be sharing this biblical concept at Grace Point.
We have been talking for 4 weeks at GP on how to create margin in your life – spiritually, relationally, financially, etc. It has been a great series with some life-altering principles. But I also know the reality of a series of this magnitude and the feelings of “that’s great but I can’t right now” a series like this one generates. So this Sunday we are going to unpack what margin looks like amidst the seasons/rhythms of life. It will help us see how margin fits within everyday life.
Many of us live with the misconception that life should be lived in “balance.” The problem is we don’t really know what balance looks like and it is next to impossible to live a fully balanced life. Often the end result of trying to live in balance is that it leaves us frustrated and feeling guilty.
A better way to understand life is in terms of rhythms or seasons. Rhythm is a central part of life. From our heart beat to the change of seasons to the migration of birds to the rising and setting of the sun, life is filled with rhythm. God created rhythm.
Solomon talks about life’s seasons in his famous “a time to/for” couplets. Esther understood she was placed “at the right time for the right purpose” when she seized her opportunity to be a voice for God’s people. The NT speaks of making the most of the opportunities God has given us. Life is filled with seasons/rhythms which we must recognize and take advantage of. The rhythms of our lives include seasons of grief, celebration, beginnings, endings, crisis, busyness, reward, loss, and on and on. We must learn how to see those seasons as opportunities.
So many people live life desiring to be in a different rhythm – single people want to be married, married people want to be single, teens want to be adults, mothers of newborns want to be mothers of toddlers, parents of older teens long for a few more years, etc. What we must learn to do is release the expectations that we place on ourselves during different seasons, seize the opportunities that come within each rhythm, and anticipate what season is coming next (which is where margin is so important).
Life is rhythmic. You do not have a choice whether these seasons will come or go. It simply happens as time marches forward. But you do have a choice on how you prepare for, live in, and react to life’s rhythms. I believe all of us want to live life with less stress and more peace, less frustration and more fulfillment, less discouragement and more hope. Understanding life in rhythms and learning to trust God within those seasons provides us that opportunity.
The rhythm is going to get you. Are you going to be prepared?