Patterns

When I learned to touch type, I thought about each letter and each finger. After a few years of practice, I found that my fingers had learned patterns for most words that I use. I don’t think about letters. In fact, I think only about what I am writing.

Chess masters during a game begin with recognizing a pattern of the pieces on the board and then can translate into discrete moves building upon or changing the pattern.

Our life with God similarly reflects a pattern. There is a pattern and rhythm of closeness and distance. Recognizing that pattern moves us closer to both awareness of our relationship with God in the moment and impetus to change where we need to change.

We develop spiritual practices or disciplines simply so that we intentionally orient our lives into the appropriate pattern of living with God more fully and more frequently.

The problem may not lie in beginning the day with a practice. It may lie in finding a recurring pattern of practice to maintain that awareness throughout the day.

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