A few weeks ago, Eric wrote a post titled The Five Pillars of Christian Living. In the post, he outlined the five topics covered at a spiritual retreat he attended with our church. I stayed home with the kids that weekend, so Eric and I have been going over the material together. Here's Eric's blurb on the first pillar; Encountering God:
1). Practicing the Presence of God: Some may know this title from the work of Brother Lawrence, a monk who devoted his life to practicing God’s presence in the mundane activities of everyday life. He wrote that “there is no sweeter manner of living in the world than continuous communion with God.” But this is a very foreign concept in the church today. We are so distracted by technology, work, family, and sports that we honestly don’t know how to dwell in the Presence of the Lord, much less do it while washing dishes or playing with our kids. Living in communion with God takes practice; it takes intentional habit making work.
Eric and I discussed this material a couple weeks ago. Together, we brainstormed ideas for triggers during our day/week that would serve as a reminder to be in communion with God. When we ended that session, I left feeling encouraged and ambitious about the week. We've since revisited that discussion twice and I've learned that the practice is much more difficult than what I originally thought.
I had good ideas, but maybe I didn't really have a plan. Here are a few examples.
Laundry: I do the household laundry, and I probably do laundry 5x/week. I planned to use this time as a reminder to pray specifically for each person in my household as I folded that person's clothes. The problem came when I folded laundry in between meeting the needs of my toddler and hungry infant. My mind got distracted, and though I returned to folding clothes, my mind did not return to praying. I also firmly believe new habits are formed with practice... so the days that I've let laundry pile up actually have a counter effect.
Bible App: Eric suggested reading scripture during a set time when I'm nursing Micah during the day. So I downloaded the app, and I've used it once. The idea was it would be easier to use than my paper-copy bible (that's weird to say). In practice, I found that being engaged by my phone doesn't work so well with the toddler. Like I said a few days ago, she's really pushing the boundaries. She actually took off her dress, stood at the foot of the chair while I was nursing, and screamed while simultaneously jumping, "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!" Sometimes you don't have to read between the lines.
Living in communion with God takes practice; it takes intentional habit making work. I'm pressing on, and finding motivation in the practices that have worked. Like singing specific hymns to each child, praying with Justice each night, and cutting way back on "screen time" to connect better with my spouse.
What about you? Anyone had good luck forming new habits? Notes on your mirrors? Reminder alarms set in your phone?
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