
Getting started with a Rule of Life
Be real and present
When Jesus meets us, he meets us where we are. When we want to follow a Rule of Life it’s important to start with life as it is. What small steps can we take to focus our lives on Jesus? Try to be realistic. In the midst of a busy day it may not be possible to find more than a few minutes of silence – but perhaps we can learn to make the most of those short times.
Make space
The temptation is to see a Rule of Life as another thing to add into life. If we simply add more it will rapidly become a burden. The first task may well be to remove some of the clutter and distraction from our days. What do we need to let go to create space for God?
Understand yourself
How has God made us? If we are creative and visual our Rule will be different from someone else who loves spreadsheets and figures. We may love ritual; regular times reading long passages of scripture; caring for others; the rhythms of the seasons. What things naturally help us to feel close to God?
Take account of the seasons of life
As we move through the seasons of life we may have more or less time; fewer or more distractions. Creating a Rule of Life will differ for the person at the start of their career and for those in retirement. A young person at school will have different opportunities to a student at university. Illness and bereavement can have profound effects on our journey of discipleship. At times it may even feel as if God has left us alone. As the seasons of life change our rhythms will progress.
Challenge yourself
There will be some practices that come easily, others may be more difficult. Sometimes when we keep going we get the greatest rewards. So, think about how you balance practices that feel natural to you with one or two that stretch you.
Use the Resources
As a diocese we have decided to make use of the excellent resources that are already available through the Practicing the Way website. This includes a Rule of Life Builder tool which enables you to log in, select spiritual disciplines and create your own Rule of Life. Once complete, your Rule of life can be viewed and edited, downloaded and printed as you seek to live out your Rule.
Find a friend or friends
Jesus calls us to be part of a new community. Paul describes the church as a body and reminds us that every part of the body needs the others. Developing your Rule of Life might be something for your explore as part of a Cairn. A proverb thought to come from Africa says ‘If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.’ Following Jesus is a call to lifelong discipleship and this works best when we travel with others.
Don’t give up
Creating new habits takes time. Think about learning to drive. When you first start it can be painful and difficult, until the movements and patterns become natural and you find yourself simply driving to your destination. When we start to build new rhythms into our lives they will at first feel unnatural, but with patience in the end they will become the framework that can lead us closer to Jesus.