Rural V. Urban (WIL, 8)

Richard J. Foster says: "Rural life tends to function around a daily cycle, whereas urban life tends to function around a weekly cycle. In the country there are chores to be done morning and evening - such as milking the cows and feeding the chickens. A daily prayer discipline makes good sense in this context. In urban life, in contrast, everything presses hard toward Friday - TGIF, as we say - and the weekends are much more discretionary. In this context it might make more sense to order a prayer life around a weekly pattern. Instead of feeling guilty that we cannot set aside time for prayer on a daily basis, perhaps it would be better to devote Saturday mornings, for example, to more extended experiences of prayer and devotional reading" (Prayer, p.73).

Okay, I don't have cows or chickens, but, over the course of my marriage, I find I operate from a rural life perspective. I love the Slow Food movement and baking bread from scratch, especially in the morning. I prefer to chop vegetables by hand instead of using the much speedier food processor. I scoop out squash seeds by hand, squeezing them through my fingers, rather than using a spoon. I employ my slow cooker once a week (although I admit that is again an urban fad). I am even more likely to shower in the late afternoon than in the morning. Why shower before digging around in the garden?

I have a hard time planning on a weekly basis. I suffer paralysis of thought when someone asks, "What's going on this week?" Sometimes, it's easy to answer if I'm planning a trip or in the midst of a project that takes more than a few hours. Otherwise, it's hard to land on a thought worth mentioning that will take up a whole week. The question is really about the major agenda points, but when life is currently made up of little things, it's easier to take it one day at a time. I prefer to plan and be prepared. However, I push myself to focus on the Present rather than the Future, and thus, develop a habit of living Here and Now. It's a weird balance because I like scheduling my to-do list. Yet, I get lost in what I want or need to do and close myself to what God brings along my path.

A few years ago, my mind alighted on a thought: one way to serve those around me was to adopt an 'Available' mindset. The way I approached this new revelation was to be more Present and Open, watching for opportunities to Give and Serve inside the daily workings of life. Opening a door for someone, letting another car into line, breathing while I'm driving, shopping, working.
One of my favorite authors encourages using time to Just Be, not filling every spare moment with Doing something. Although it could be employed as an excuse, my programmed-for-efficiency mind warns, enjoying the gift of life is one thing we are certainly called to do. "Taste and see that the LORD is good" (Ps. 34:8); "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (Jn 10:10b).

The way that works for me is taking each day as it comes. "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him" (Mt. 7:11). Oh, Father, give me the grace and strength for this day.

(WIL, 8)