I met with my pastor yesterday and he shared this idea about a rule of life. As I understood it, it's not so much a single rule but rather a set of activities to create a spiritual rhythm. And so I've been asking myself what do I need to be doing daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually to feed my soul - the eternal part of me that is inhabiting this physical body.
What or When?
A laundry list of 'what' can be done to feed my soul has been rolling through my head since that meeting, but what has struck me the most is the 'when'. Do I give my soul my best, most productive, most focused times or do I give when I can be most consistent? In the past, I have had grand plans to use my early mornings (when I'm freshest) for introspection, God, creative efforts and the things that feed me. But in reality, early mornings seem to be the only quiet time during the day that I can get a actual work done - writing proposals, business planning and answering emails. The rest of my days are spent leading teams, attending meetings, answering questions, meeting clients and the like. And so, when I arrive home in the evening, I'm spent and have yet to feed my soul for the day.
Is My Best Really Best?
I was taught early on in life that I was to give God my best. My best time, my best money, my best everything. I'm learning that it's more likely that I can consistently approach God's throne when I'm sliding in on my face at the end of a day, with an ache in my head and a weary heart. It's not my best time in the world's terms, but it may be the time when my soul is most open to be filled. And the beautiful part is that God will take me any way I come and He can work with anything.
