When I say the word “patterns,” what comes to mind? Do you think of shapes, colors, or designs? Maybe you think of your favorite police or detective show on TV and how whenever there is a murder, the officers make a tape or chalk drawing of the person of the floor…in the pattern of how they were found. I always enjoy looking at the fields and crops in the spring and summer, observing the patterns that the rows or the plants create in the fields. I enjoy watching the patterns the geese and ducks make as they fly north or south in the spring or fall. As a pilot I was trained to watch weather patterns, especially if I was out flying.
But the first thought I have, when I hear the word “patterns” is that of a flimsy, papery material that my mother and sisters would spend hours working with in order to make new clothes. As a young boy I would hate the trips to Mitchell with my mom and sisters if I knew they were going to be pattern and material shopping. B-O-R-I-N-G!!! The only saving grace was that one of the stores my mom shopped in had an escalator. So, I’d ride the escalator up and down numerous time…probably until someone told me to stop it.
Sewing patterns may be my first thought when I hear the word “patterns.” However, the sewing pattern memories are now replaced by a question I’m asking myself lately, “What are the patterns of my life?” Or more specifically I ask, “What are the patterns of my life that help me as a follower of Jesus? And “What are the patterns of my life that aren’t helpful for me as a follower of Jesus?” In a way these are the questions that Jesus asks of people in stories from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Jesus is constantly asking questions that make people consider their actions, their thoughts, and their beliefs. In other words, he’s asking people to consider the patterns of their lives, and then ask the deeper question of, “Are these patterns helpful in knowing and loving God and neighbor?”
As Lent is drawing near, I’m finding myself thinking about the patterns of my life. This is actually what Lent is intended to do, by fasting, establishing new or different spiritual disciplines, and practicing greater self-examination, we ask God to shine a light on the helpful and unhelpful patterns of our lives and then discern a way to grow in the more healthy or faith-filled patterns.
A morning ritual or pattern in my life is that I get up most mornings around 5:30 am. I go to my office in the basement of our home where I’ll read from my Bible and pray for a bit, then I do 15 minutes of stretches and exercises intended to stretch and strengthen different muscle groups to prepare me for the day. Then I run 3-4 miles, and on the day goes. This is generally a helpful or positive life pattern. When considering the unhelpful patterns of my life, social media or personal device use often rises to the surface as a time waster. Or, when I consider the negative sound bites in my life, those are unhelpful and negative life patterns. (I suppose my love of chocolate and ice cream might be a negative pattern too…)
Just as the sewing patterns my mom worked with created items of clothing that helped define our life, so the patterns we develop in other areas of life create items that define who we are or how we live. So, today I encourage us all to notice some of the patterns in our lives. Lent is coming and during that Church season we will offer some opportunities to develop new patterns to hopefully help in our desire to follow Jesus more closely.
Serving Together,
Pastor Keith