Family Rhythm

Your Rhythm to Groove To!

The little choices you make today shape your life. They establish habits and rhythms that will lead you down a path you may or may not want to go. If you stay on beat with this life rhythm described here, you will find what you’ve always wanted.

A rhythm is a pattern, best seen in music. It is a constant, intentional and repeated pattern of movement or sound. It’s systematic, not haphazard. It is designed, developed and purposeful. The author puts it together and arranges it artistically. You see it in poetry that challenges your thinking and moves your emotions. You find it in wonderful colour combinations, lines and shapes to form stunning artwork.

Every family has it’s own rhythm.

It’s there when you wake up and when you go to sleep. You know it in the daily grind of work. You see relationships quickly establish healthy or not so healthy patterns. Money comes in, money goes out. Emotions rise and fall or sadly never change at all. And so your life is what it is. But does family life merely happen to us or do we have a part in writing the song and dance?

There are many rhythms in life, but I see one rhythm that I want to groove to. It is more than paying bills or chewing gum. It is more than changing a diaper; this changes everything! The rhythm, once understood, can be leveraged into everything you face in life with your family. It will be what you dream about even while not fully grasping it here on earth. You will revisit it moment by moment because you can’t get enough of it. You will tirelessly pursue it and find that, when it’s all over, it has been pursuing you. You won’t want anything else because this rhythm has everything you could possibly hope for.

The rhythm you want is the story of the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is your peace with God, your hope in God and your love for God. May you be on a journey of growth to more fully embrace the “unforced rhythms of grace” (Matthew 11:28-30, MSG) throughout your life, day and night. There are five main parts to this delightful cycle.

Right Relationship

Relationship Broken

Repercussions

Repentance

Restoration

In the beginning God created everything right. All was good. Relationships were perfect. Sin broke what was good, separated us from God and left us for dead. The ground was cursed and our pain multiplied. We desired pleasure, but searched for it not in God, but in sin. However, some of us choose repentance. That feeling of deep sorrow over wrongdoing. It leads us to the deep desire for the right relationship with God that was lost. We find it at the cross, the place where we remember the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus so that all who desire it may come to God and be restored.

Don’t you long for this to be your daily posture? It affects our marriages, our families, our work, our friendships. As we turn from sin to God we find our peace and our satisfaction. Have you been arguing senselessly with your spouse? Repent and seek restoration. Are your children defiant? Show them how relationships break down and how repentance can mend them. Are you running ragged, bouncing from thing to thing? Rest. Find your solace in Christ. Are you emotionally stale, lacking joy or refusing to show heart-felt compassion? Live again as you remember that God wants you and those around you to be filled with unexplainable passion. We continue through this cycle until one day we will know full restoration and lavishly enjoy a right relationship with our Creator.

May you daily experience an increase of peace and wonder in your relationships. May your life dance to this joy-filled rhythm again or for the first time. May you be filled with the melody of hope. May you experience the orchestral power of God that moves you. May your families know outstanding laughter. Do whatever it takes to get this rhythm into your life!

(This post was edited with the help of Jim Jackson of Connected Families. Thanks Jim!)

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