Falling into New Rhythms

Hope is somehow folded into something new.

Whether it’s a new calendar, a new outfit, a new house or a new school year – a bit of hope is built into newness.

When August rolls around I’m usually ready for the school year to begin.  I crave predictability, routines and schedules.

But this year I admittedly wasn’t ready.

Somehow July came and went in a blink of an eye, and I wanted just a few more weeks of Summer.

Changing gears had no appeal to me; my foot resisted pressing down on the gas to go full speed ahead.

The sweet aroma of freedom and flexibility still lingered in the air.  But the first day of school was coming.

Ready or Not.

With a week of Summer left, I worked on reorganizing our space designated for school.  As I cleaned out and decluttered in preparation for the days ahead, I asked God to prepare my heart as well.

Rearranging a few things and adding a couple of new finds to the room breathed hope into our space designed for learning.  My heart grew excited in anticipation of the year ahead.  God graciously answered my prayer and gave me joy.

 

Organizing and printing labels made me think back on the year before.

What contributed to making last year a success and what were some of our downfalls?

Looking back on what worked and what didn’t, I realized just how little my organizational skills would affect the things that mattered most.

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I like to think of myself as a Type-A-Person, but truth be told, I’m not naturally bent that way.  Sheer effort is required for me to be organized and scheduled.  My creative side constantly wants to think outside of confines of checklists and calendars.

I crave the beauty {and sanity} of order — productivity found in following a to-do-list, planning ahead and keeping a tidy house. But I’ve also learned the importance of folding in flexibility into whatever I do.

As my family grew in number, God forced me to weave more and more flexibility into my plans.  I found a rigid schedule often quenched The Holy Spirit’s direction and redirection in my daily life.

Organization, plans and schedules lay a beautiful canvas for learning but the real growth happens when all kinds of colors are added to the painting, in the messiness of unpredictable life.

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So I’ll share my goal for this new school year with you. 

My goal is to be a conductor of steady rhythms rather than a stickler of schedules and tasks.

• Paying attention to what-works while changing up the rhythms that repeatedly end on a wrong note.
• Making room for the Holy Spirit to breathe purpose {over perfection} into our commitments and activities.
• Weaving flexibility and fun into our daily routine to love each other {and others} well.    

By falling into steady rhythms that-work for my children, I will equip them with lifelong skills that will carry them much farther than a grade on paper.

Character is developed in the process not the product. Click To Tweet

I know in a month or two, my perfectly marked labels will be more of an indicator of our mess than our organization.  Books and supplies will undoubtedly be in the wrong places and piles of papers will crowd our desks again.

But maybe our new rhythms will stick a little longer than our post-it notes.

And maybe our lives will echo the beauty of the rhythms of God’s grace a little more this school year.