Repeat

Normally when I think of something that is repeatitive I am picturing something that doesn't require much effort or consideration. However, when I look at my daily walk with God I find myself looking to instill a pattern.  As many will know I am a Benedictine oblate, with the monastery of Holy Cross in Rostrevor.  It means I am a member of a monastic community, living outside its walls but joining with them in a daily pattern of following God guided by the Rule of Saint Benedict.

This is a pattern, a rule, a 'repeat', that I am trying to build my life around: as much as I am able.  To build into my life an awareness of God and include times of 'proximity' has become something I am attempting to repeat.  I am not claiming that there is a winning formula but repeating daily a pattern that connects you with your Heavenly Father is essential.  God is always with us as Psalm 139 reminds us but to take time and be aware of His nearness is essential.

My wife gave me a quote by Saint Francis from a book she is reading 'Chasing Francis' it was:

Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

In my life it can seem like a constant battle to pause and acknowledge that God is present.  I can get caught up in doing, and miss being.  However, what I have discovered is that when we affirm our identity as God's children first we have a healthier outlook on what we are called to do.

So today, as every day, I seek to repeat a rule, a pattern that has become for me a way of being a child of God.