Live A Vibrant Life

I opened the desk top of the writing desk that always stood in my great-grandma’s, then my grandma’s room throughout my entire childhood, and now stands in mine. My heart did a quick nod to those matriarchs as I lit the candle snug in the corner of the desk. I pet the needy puppy at my hip hoping to appease her enough to leave me be (it’s just the truth and it worked!). Pulling out my computer, I set it on the desk and then took a deep breath and looked out the window at the rainy afternoon cozying me in. Coffee was the last thing I required to sit and key out my thoughts and the stirrings in my heart. I never quite know what they are until I begin to write. Usually I process in a journal, but sometimes I spill out here with you. As the words land on the page (or screen in this case), they land in my heart too and things make a bit more sense and always, always I get up better than when I came.

We humans are creatures of habit, even when we don’t realize it. Rituals help us to frame our lives. My ritual for writing always helps me enter into a frame of mind that creates space for me to process life. My days are full of other rituals as well, much like yours I’m sure. I have a ritual when I cook where I turn on French music, get the food cooking, and prepare the table to be welcoming and beautiful for the hungry men I can never keep full! I have rituals in the morning, when homeschooling, at bedtime, in camp work, and more. Life without rituals (habits, practices, routines) tends to feel chaotic and stressful, not to mention a big fat waste of time as we squirrel around aimlessly chasing whatever catches our attention.

I haven’t figured out why my thoughts keep going to this idea of framework and ritual lately. I tend to be a person who can’t have too much of the same thing over and over and over again. I get bored with it. Like drinking water for instance. I have to find different ways to enjoy water or I’m just over it. Because of this need for diversity, it surprises me that I’m into this idea of rituals. Maybe it’s because I’ve come to see much of my life as a series of different practices and routines. Usually the word ritual is used when associating practices within a religion, but thinking beyond that sort of seems to fit best in my mind.

First, though I wouldn’t call myself a religious person, I am a Jesus follower, which means I am in pursuit of knowing and glorifying God. If this is true, then everything inside my life is one big ritual of setting my heart in worship of God. Whether it be laundry, designing a website, washing a toilet, making myself available for others, cooking food (again), or making space to quiet my heart with God — everything is ideally and ultimately done in a posture of worship.

Second, having the idea of a ritual (versus a habit or practice) in my mind tends to straighten me up a bit more. I can easily become apathetic or sluggish with things, especially when they feel mundane. This is not the person I want to be. When I see life as a series of rituals, I have a motivation to be careful to do all the things in life with the best I have for God’s glory alone.

I’ve found that when I am careful to create/keep routines of seeking God and His Word daily, encounters with Him become much more commonplace and life takes on a whole new kind of vibrancy. Who doesn’t want encountering the God of the Universe to be the norm? And who among us doesn’t want life to be rich and beautiful and good?

Here’s where the thoughts are landing: seeking Jesus as the framework for life allows all the tangible things we do to fit inside that boundary and find meaning. The daily things we worry over tend to lose their power as they find their rightful places in the bigger work of glorifying God. With this framework we can better withstand storms that come our way; we can better uphold the weight of heavy things; we can better sustain difficulties, all because our foundation is sturdy and founded in Christ. Daily Living then becomes elevated and filled with hope and beauty because daily living is really rituals of worship. Seeing God at work all around us, seeing Him in everything, makes our lives vibrant and stable and beautiful.

Have you found this to be true in your life? Something I keep hearing in my own thoughts is “Am I in control of my habits or are my habits in control of me?” Some frameworks aren’t for our good. We can easily find ourselves entrapped in toxic places. Maybe taking a look at who/where we are and who/where we want to be can help us restructure things. If you aren’t seeking to encounter the God of the universe — the God who sees you and knows you and loves you — then maybe you aren’t finding the vibrant life you want. Start there. Start making the habit of seeking Him everyday. Everything comes alive with Jesus! Everything finds meaning in Him.