The War for a Peaceful Rhythm
Hey, mosaic people!
Life can be so hard. I try to start my day with a rhythm of entering quiet, guarding my mind, engaging in peace, and spending time with the Lord, where the Holy Spirit can fill my mind and heart with His perspective before I’m bombarded with the world’s, my family’s, or anyone else’s.
My whole nervous system gets shaken when this flow is disrupted. I need calm in my morning. As a highly sensitive person, I don’t like having discussions about tense things until I’ve talked with God first, breathed, and filled myself. I don’t like loud noises or anything that comes with force first thing in the morning. As children of God, I know we can choose peace, but it’s a war at times. We have to calm the war within us by learning new ways of entering our days.
My routine and rhythm look like this: getting up and immediately putting on my workout clothes so I’m ready for that, pouring my cup of coffee, going to the restroom, opening the Bible app, and really receiving the words of truth in my mind and heart.
I often click on the option to pray at the end because the music calms me and gives me a few minutes to pause and set my heart.
I’m now ready to drink some water and dive into whatever workout I’m doing that day. This allows me to get oxygen into my body, breathe, and focus on where I’m at in that moment. Walking around the neighborhood gets my blood pumping and helps my lymphatic system drain and operate the way it needs to.
I often make a list—even if it’s for mundane things—to help me stay on track. As someone with an anxious mind and a wandering body, it gives me a sense of intention and deliberateness to make notes and refer to them as I move through my day.
During my prayer time, I always pray for the order of how my day should go. Sometimes I struggle with what’s a priority and can feel anxious that I’m not doing enough or the right thing at the right time.
If there are many tasks—and there usually are—writing lists and praying for direction helps me partner with God and trust that my day will align with what He has planned.
It sets my mind at ease knowing I’ve made my plan, but He ultimately directs my steps.
I didn’t grow up with any kind of model for planning, and I’ve found that I can always flex if life moves in a different direction.
The structure of having a plan helps my brain know where to land, my heart to rest, and my feet to know where to move first.
Interestingly, at the end of the day, I will often have accomplished everything on my list. If not, a lot of those things can wait another day.
What is the rhythm of your morning, and how do you structure your day?
Are there things you do every day that help you stay on task and bring calm to the mundane?
We really do have to war for peace, as the busy ways of the world—and sometimes being our own browbeating taskmaster—will not relent in shouting dos, don’ts, and shoulds!
If I truly trust that God already knows how this day will go and all that it holds, I can partner with Him on what steps to take.
Take Great Care,
Sabrina