I just finished reading The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer and it could not have been a better read to start the new year. As we head towards a hopeful spring in a "post" pandemic world, this book was filled with truth to help me stay present to what's important as life picks up again. The book is about our Western culture's obsession with hurry. Everything we do - the way we fill our schedules, the amount of time we spend on our phones, the pace we move through grocery stores, drive our cars, complete daily tasks and routines, and go about our work lives and home lives has a default setting to full, fast, and hurried. And when we try and infuse that pace with a strong spiritual life, we basically fail on all fronts. In fact, the great Dallas Willard says that, "Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day." People are just too busy to live emotionally healthy and spiritually rich and vibrant lives. End of story.
But thankfully, the story doesn't have to end there. We don't just have to accept this as fact, respond to every small talk opener with "oh just busy" when we actually look up from our phone long enough to have a conversation with someone, or move about our lives in a way that leaves us tired and lacking the truest source of joy, rest and freedom while we tirelessly try and find it everywhere else. That's basically the journey John Mark Comer went on as he stepped back from a ten-year run to mega-church leadership and slowed down his life in every way. He studied the life of Jesus, became an apprentice and adopted a rule of life that followed, and thus found what God promises as a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light.
None of this was new to me. I've read several books about slowing down your life, staying in the present, balancing life and work and family, etc., but something about this book finally felt both inspirational and practical. I think what I loved the most was that John Mark Comer didn't neglect the fact that we live very differently now than Jesus did when he lived. Nor do we need to change every aspect of our life, quit our job, sell our home, and move to a remote island in order to adopt a "slow life." Jesus didn't have an iphone, Netflix, or a hundred kids' activities to navigate. But if we step outside our lives long enough to really study his, he actually lived a very full life. Not only was he a carpenter who likely had clients, project deadlines, goals and aspirations, but once he started his ministry, Jesus was constantly interrupted! And instead of being interrupted from the latest episode of Ted Lasso to drive a kid to practice, Jesus was interrupted to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and bring the dead to life! His schedule was full. To the brim. In a good way. Yet he never came off as hurried.
"This rootedness in the moment and connectedness to God, other people, and himself weren't the by-products of a laid-back personality or pre-Wi-Fi world; they were the outgrowths of a way of life. A whole new way to be human that Jesus put on display in story after story."
Comer looks at the life of Jesus, the practices he modeled and lived by, and takes that thinking to his current life to examine the simple question: how would Jesus do this? And it comes down to simple (but at the same time difficulty) practices that help us s l o w d o w n.
Silence and SolitudeSabbathSimplicitySlowing
Comer goes on to spend the rest of the book outlining these four practices, examples of the way Jesus did it, and ways we can adopt it here. Some of them feel like easy, no-brainers; others require a shift in what we value, how we spend our days, and where we invest our time. And then we have to get going!
I think that's often the hardest part - the get going part. We read a book, feel inspired or motivated by what it says, but don't sit in it long enough to let it change us. And then soon enough, the world and its ways just pull us right back in to the secular current (or tidal wave). And this leads to maybe the reason I loved Comer so much - like me, he's a man who likes to follow rules, especially when he can turn it into a good ole challenge. He writes:
"I like to have a plan. For everything. I literally sit down before my day off and plan it out by the hour. Mock me all you want, but I normally have a really good day off. I'm old enough and (hopefully) wise enough to know my personality and laugh about it, living in a way that works for me and not judging my antinomian friends who have other personality types. That said, I've started to notice that anti-rule people are often anti-schedule people; and anti-schedule people frequently live in a way that is reactive, not proactive. As more passenger than driver, consumer than creator. Life happens to them, more than through them."
If we align our schedules with our values, and those values are aligned with a life with Jesus, then our lives should in fact grow toward a life full of all he promises: love, peace, joy, and freedom. My favorite part, then, is that Comer says this "work" doesn't have to feel legalistic or suffocating, but could actually be fun and transformative. He refers to it as thinking "gamefully", turning some of the best practices of Jesus into little games that are fun, creative, flexible, and centered on the kind of life he's after. He gives lots of ideas that most of us would completely scoff at (driving the speed limit, choosing the longest grocery store line and actually initiating a conversation with someone, setting a time limit to your social media, etc.), but it definitely got my own wheels turning about ways I can gamefully practice a slower life myself.
So here's my plan. Instead of taking all my ideas and attempting to tackle them all at once, I'm going to approach it as small little experiments to apply and reflect on as I go. I'm hoping they will not only lead to a less hurried life, but will help me invest in my word of the year, delight, and keep our family focused on what's most important. A life that is full of peace, joy, love, and the freedom only found in Jesus.
March || Social Media Fast: Get rid of Instagram and Facebook, restrict all phone notifications, set a technology curfew at night, and find a new home for my phone at bedtime (other than my nightstand). I also want to clean out my email inbox, and set limits on when I check emails. This felt like the most logical first step toward a slower life.
April || 30 Days of Delight: Inspired to pick up my creative writing life again, I want to try and write a short essay most days this month about small things I find delight in.
May || A Quiet Life: This month I will invest in 30 minutes of quiet time at some point throughout my day. A cup of tea and my Bible before the house wakes, a quiet midday walk in the woods, or some yoga, meditation, or a hot bath before bed. And I would like to invest in an entire day of silence at some point this month.
June || Play Everyday: This one is about the kids. I want to spend a little time doing something playful with them every day this month. A cannonball in the pool when I wouldn't otherwise get in, an a tea party picnic for lunch, a game of PIG or chess in the driveway, or something spontaneous and completely unexpected before bed.
July || 31 Conversations: This month I'm going to seek to have 31 conversations with people. Not quick, interrupted, distracted talk, but real, centered, focused conversations with people. Some planned, some spontaneous, I want to see people well and listen even better this month.
August || Sabbath Sundays: As a way to usher in a new school year, this one is so exciting to me. One day a week to put away our phones, be together, and do nothing but stop and delight in all that is good. Feast and play and smile and adventure and drink up the goodness of a day of rest.
September || Locally Focused: As a way to simplify life, I want to spend an entire month only buying local. And perhaps even limit my local shopping to just a couple places. No Amazon Prime, no online shopping, no online returns and trips to the UPS store, etc. If I can't find it local, I don't need it.
October || Get Outside: One of the prettiest (and also busiest) months of the year, I want to get outside to enjoy nature a little bit every day. And a goal of 10,000 steps for 31 days would be icing on the cake.
November || Give It Away: Inspired by my friend Kate, I want to give something away every day in November. My time, my resources, my schedule, etc. Nothing really planned, but more led by where the spirit takes me.
December || Self Care December: This month tends to be so busy. I want to commit to doing something to care for myself every day this month.
Thank you, John Mark Comer, for inspiring such a great framework for my year ahead. Thank you for reminding me of the goodness in this life and how we can bring our best selves to it.
"Every now is an eternity if it is full of God."
