In beginning to write my Rule of Life, I asked myself what was most important. My answers were my relationships with God, my husband and my children; exercise, pleasing God in my work and in my writing. I want to live as Christ wants, live abundantly, as described in John 10:10 and love those around me and far from me. To live the abundant life, the first step is to remain in communion with God through daily Scripture reading, prayer, contemplation and by “forgiving my debtors,” as Christ spoke about in the Lord’s Prayer.
To live an abundant life, I must also participate in community. Right now I am doing this by teaching a Sunday school class and through my relationship with my prayer partner. I am also attending weekly church services.
Working at the newspaper is a large part of my life. At times it seems overwhelming due to scheduling, but I am fighting to keep my time spent with family and work balanced. Writing for the newspaper is how I participate in Social Justice. By writing editorials of things that are not quite right in our city and by writing informative articles that both educate and dispel rumors, I feel that I am doing the work that God has called me to right now.
Because of my schedule, my life is unbalanced in the area of self-care. I do not exercise regularly like I was before taking the newspaper job. After graduating from this course, I intend to exercise regularly. I am praying about this and trying to eat less. I want to grow old gracefully and allow God to use me in any way, so keeping my body healthy through exercise and simplicity in eating is part of my rule for life.
Family is also important. I feel a great responsibility in teaching my children about the Lord and in making sure that they are capable adults. I also want to love my husband unconditionally and make our home a welcoming place for him and for my children. This can be accomplished through the practice of disciplines such as prayer, contemplation and study. It is through these disciplines that the Lord examines my heart and makes me aware of sin or wrong thinking. It is only through prayer and through the infilling of the Holy Spirit that I can exercise compassion on my family and the people around me.
I practice other disciplines such as tithing and generosity. I am not faithful in fasting, nor do I write in my journal regularly. In the area of fasting, and in all the other disciplines, I will trust the Lord to continue educating me and making my heart soft. As part of that abundant life, I will pray for further opportunities to practice social justice, discipline in exercise and I will seek to pray continually. I trust that God will help me to continue developing a Rule for Life throughout the years that I am given. WC 497
