A Rule of Life

It’s strange how quickly you can wake up to a whole new reality. With the situation around COVID-19 changing so rapidly and social isolation in full effect it’s easy to get lost in swirl of it all. In the midst of all this uncertainty I am seeing how much better my kids do with some kind of routine. Lately I have been seeing how establishing a similar kind of routine or rhythm has been good for grounding my life during this time.

Waking or eating at fixed hours, doing some kind of physical activity, or calling family regularly are all routines that can help ground us during our new and uprooted schedules. In the same way I think establishing spiritual routines or spiritual disciplines can ground us to an even firmer foundation in Christ. Establishing these kinds of routines have perhaps been most helpful of all to me.

The ancients had a name for living with a kind of routine or rhythm of life called a “Rule of Life”. The goal of the rule was to to make space in the busyness daily living to root ourselves to Christ and grow our lives in Him through habits or daily disciplines. It is also a way of attending to our inner lives so that we can better face the challenges and trials of the outer life.

For me, some of the spiritual practices I have been trying to root my week in are:

• Praying at fixed hours (morning, afternoon, and night).
• Reading and reflecting on scripture as a personal devotion.
• Spending time in quiet solitude before the day begins.
• Trying to keep a Sabbath in order to delight in the Lord and what He has given me.

In the days to come many of us will have a lot more time with ourselves than we are accustomed to. It’ll be tempting to try and kill the time with our screens or distract ourselves with our news feeds or keep busy in the daily needs that will certainly arise. Maybe something that will help ground us in the midst of it all is some kind of “Rule of Life”. All I know is having some kind of rhythm or routine works for my kids and I (like many of us) am much more like a kid than I’d care to admit. I just have a little more self regulation, a little more foresight, and a lot more ability to self deceive. And if that’s the case how much more do I need to root myself in a life with Christ. Our saviour who also opens our eyes, calms our souls, and changes our hearts.

Albert Wu is the Campus Pastor of Tapestry Richmond

Q: What are some things that help ground you during this time?

Q: What are some spiritual practices during this time that you want to root your life in?