Episode #258 Finding Breathing Room in a Hectic Life – Unforced Rhythms of Grace

Hey, friend. Do you ever feel like you're just running full speed without a break? Like you're juggling a million things without even the time to breathe? Well, I can relate to that. I think a lot of us can. And today we're talking about finding breathing room even when life feels hectic. And I heard a phrase recently in the book Celebration of Discipline that has really stuck with me. It's not something that author Richard Foster came up with, but he's actually quoting believers from ages ago. The phrase is holy leisure.

Now, I don't really think leisure is a common word, at least not in my vocabulary these days. But it did conjure up this picture for me of some old timey clip, probably from some movie. Women of Leisure … you know, this idea that we can be those who recline on the couch and eat chocolates and don't have places to go or things to do, or responsibilities that need our attention. That is not the season of anyone that I know. Whether you're single or married, whether you're working in the home or out of the home, whether you're raising children or not, our lives are full of good responsibilities and priorities and the everyday errands and maintenance tasks that we have to manage.

But this idea of holy leisure is related to this concept of taking sacred moments in everyday life, of catching our breath. it's not this extravagant thing that's only attainable to a few. It's actually something that God invites all of us into, no matter how hectic our lives are right now.

It reminds me of Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God". And granted, we can know that God is God. While we're busy, while we're working, while we're running our lives. But there is something powerful that happens when we take a moment for stillness, and sometimes that moment of stillness is simply settling down a little bit on the inside. To notice, to remember, to appreciate and sense in a moment that God is God and we are not.

I wanna read for you a quick quote from Celebration of Discipline. And it says, “The church Fathers often spoke of Otium Sanctum, 'holy leisure.' It refers to a sense of balance in the life, an ability to be at peace through the activities of the day, an ability to rest and take time to enjoy beauty, and an ability to pace ourselves. With our tendency to define people in terms of what they produce, we would do well to cultivate 'holy leisure.' And if we expect to succeed in the contemplative way, we must pursue 'holy leisure' with a determination that is ruthless to our datebooks."

Now, there's a few things I love about that.

One is really this call out that we tend to define people, including sometimes ourselves, by what we produce. I can see that in my own life Where I can judge if a day was successful or not by how productive I felt by what things moved forward or how successful I felt like I was at showing up for my kids or various priorities.

But we are not defined by what we produce. That is not how God assigns identity or worth to us. And so that doesn't have to be how we find identity or assign worth to ourselves.

I also love that it mentions balance here because I used to have a big problem with this concept of balance. I developed this perspective, that balance meant the appropriate amount of everything. If I could give 25% of myself to this, and if I could give 18% to this, everything in my life could always get done and everything would have balance.

Well, healthy balance is not this balancing act to try and squeeze everything in, but it's putting things in their proper place for the season that you're in and the priorities that God has given you. And oftentimes, there's things that belonged in our lives in one season that shift as our priorities change in another season.

In Ecclesiastes 3, it talks about how "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven..." and that includes holy leisure. That includes having pace and space to be at peace as we go throughout our days. To be mindful of God and to notice him at work in us and through us and in the world around us.

It reminds me of a story that's recorded for us in the gospels, and I'm gonna read a little bit from Mark chapter 6. And this is after Jesus sends out the 12 from ministry and it's before the feeding of the 5,000. And so picking it up at verse 30, I'll read through verse 32. It says,

30 “The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.”

Now, I'm guessing a lot of us, especially if you're in a mom season of life, can relate to that experience. To have not a moment of leisure, not even to eat. But what if also in this season you could experience a different pace, you could experience holy leisure?

Because God wants to bring refreshment to you.
And so here's a question that you can take to God today:

God, where in my current schedule can you help me find moments of holy leisure?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

Connect with Jen on Instagram