Reset
We are living in an unprecedented time. You’ve probably heard it put that way more than a few times already.
Let me ask you – what are you learning through this time?
What are you discovering about yourself? About your capacity to manage stress? About your limitations? About your coping mechanisms? About the rhythms of your life that have been disrupted?
What if this time was an opportunity to hit the “RESET” button on our lives?
I’m not talking about going back in time and getting a “do-over.” Rather, I am talking about our need to reset priorities and spiritual practices in our lives.
Especially now. We are enjoying a bit more freedom as our Province has moved into phase 3 of our restart plan (says the guy who is in quarantine right now for 2 weeks). We are trying to find new rhythms in our lives and adapt to this “new normal” we find ourselves in.
It can be easy to go back to old habits and old ways.
To find ourselves as busy again as we were back in February. Pushing the boundaries of our limits. Becoming over-committed. Trying to juggle a few too many balls in the air.
Rather than return – what would it look like to “RESET?” To reset the priority of time spent with family. I know in our home we have had more meals together in the past 4 months than probably any other time in the past 4 years.
To reset being present in the spaces and places where God has put us. I don’t know about you – but we have been more present in our neighbourhood – noticing more people and seeing more people outside – walking, gathering in circles in their driveways, gardening, lingering to say hi – than any other time in the past many years.
To reset healthy boundaries around work and rest – finding sustainable rhythms of working and resting that help us flourish. Embracing limitations to our productivity. There is increasingly talk of moving to a four-day work week – how fascinating would that be if that became a fruit of this time?
One of the most important resets we could be hitting right now is in our spiritual practices. It may be the case that we have adopted a kind of spirituality that may no longer be sufficient for times like this – a spirituality marked by:
- Abbreviated, rushed times of prayer
- Scant time in God’s Word
- A spiritual life overly dependent on Sunday morning worship gatherings to feed and nourish us
- Spiritual disciplines that had provided very little time to reflect on what is going on below the surface – attending to our emotional life and mental health
If any of this resonates at all, let me encourage you towards a RESET.
A vital, dynamic, first-hand relationship with Jesus is critical right now.
We need – desperately – to linger in God’s presence. To linger in prayer. To discover the disciplines of silence and solitude before God. To spend more time in Scripture – reading, reflecting, meditating on God’s Word. To prioritize time with spiritual companions who will encourage us in our faith. To embrace a slower pace of life. To find healthy practices of self-care.
So we might follow Jesus long-term. However long this all lasts. Whatever else is yet to come.
What “RESET” buttons do you need to be pressing in your life? Which ones have you already pressed?
-Pastor Tim