If you were to meet me on a Wednesday the chances are I would be wearing black clothes!
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I have very mild OCD tendencies and like a degree of order and pattern to my life. Therefore, I have my T shirts set out in six piles, two random colours, black, white and then a Church Army pile. On Wednesday’s it is the black pile! And invariably this is teamed up with black trousers or joggers and a black top, sometimes that may change to grey or another matching colour. For a long time now, I have a thing about matching colours and try not to wear more than two colours. This works it way to both hats, coats and bags should I be carrying one that day!
For some people patterns and procedures must follow very strict rules otherwise they can become very upset and struggle to function. As I said, my own OCD is very mild, although pictures or other items not straight drive to me to distraction.
I must add that for me I can change routines if the need arises, this pattern forms the basis.
Recently our ‘vicars’ Jane and Alan announced their retirement after Easter 2026. I began to ponder on the regular 9am online prayer meeting set up during Covid that continued afterwards. It lasts for about 20 minutes, Monday – Thursday. I really hope it will continue because it sets up my day and gives me a pattern, especially now that I am retired.
Some years ago, we explored as a Church community a book by Ken Shigematsu, ‘God in My Everything: How an Ancient Rhythm Helps Busy People Enjoy God.’
Through a series of exercises, you are invited to learn how to live with the peace and presence of God amid our hectic, busy lives. Spiritual formation is more than just solitude and contemplative reflections. Spiritual formation happens in the everyday, in every moment of life. For those caught up in the busyness of work, family, and church, it often feels like time with God is just another thing on a crowded to-do list.The idea is not to create a slavish straitjacket where we become guilt ridden if we failed to keep with the set pattern and routine, but we have it there as the core, as a daily practise. That practise of course must be flexible to accommodate workdays and weekends or time off and holidays.
The idea is not to load you with a load of other stuff to do, but to invite you to write up for yourself a simple daily pattern, a rule of life.
To help with this there is a simple scaffold on which you can build a pattern and a rhythm.
The challenge for us to reflect on is how balanced does our life seem. Are we always chasing the next deadline, trying to read that book, feeling guilty because we have not read the Bible or said our prayers.
Back to my T shirts. I remember somewhile ago a nun being asked about her life. She was one that always wore a ‘habit.’ She said the beauty of this was that it was one less thing to think about when she got up in the morning. She knew what she was going to wear.
Something of that lies behind my organised T shirt piles. When I was in ministry I took to wearing something of Church Army whenever I was ‘on-duty.’ Depending on the task to be undertaken, that would range from very casual to very formal. The other benefit to this was that on my ‘days off’ the children knew that I was available, out of ‘uniform.’ And now retired I have found a similar helpful pattern with my organised shirt piles.
Also important to remember is that we will have various seasons in our life and so our rhythms, patterns, rules of life will need to change and adapt and be subject to review.
Matthew 11.28-30 The Message
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
In a world of frenetic activity may it be that we could offer a different way, taking heed of these words from the hymn ‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind.’
Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.
An ordered life will not happen automatically, it requires some work in organising our life, building a framework to help us measure and make sense of our lives and live our best life under God’s guiding hand.
https://youtu.be/0bhJHMoDsdE?si=2Y43f9Q6iO9Lwnte
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