Finding Your Sacred Rhythms

By: Sara Payne, Magnify Missions Coach

Email: sara@magnifymissions.com

It’s a sunny afternoon in July, and I am sitting in my favorite spot of our house-our front porch. It’s nap time for my little girl and these few fleeting hours are when I get a chance to meet with the Lord, collect my thoughts, and get a little work in. As a backdrop to doing dishes, folding laundry, training for a half marathon and a myriad of other daily activities, I’ve been listening to Ruth Haley Barton’s Sacred Rhythms. I first encountered this author in another book called, Invitation to Retreat. However, I realized that I had heard about her work from some dear friends who had attended a retreat at her Transforming Center. As an introvert and person that loves quiet and reflection, I was very drawn to her ideas in regards to rest, silence, solitude, and listening. In the midst of what feels like a very hectic and ever evolving season of life, especially as a new mama, I was looking for content that speaks to my own desire to find a slower rhythm and some breathing space to hear and meet with God. Recently a friend shared with me an album called Worship for Workers and I was drawn to the song Slow Me Down. I find myself playing that song several times in the week-the words are on my lips and the tune is in my head often throughout the day much like a prayer. 

Oh, good shepherd, would you teach me how to rest

I'm rushing on, will you make me to lie down

Will you build a fold by the waters that refresh

Will you call my name and lead me safely out

From my anxious drive to labor on and on

From the restless grind that has put my mind to sleep

Will you call me back and gently slow me down

Will you show me now what to lose and what to keep

Oh, good shepherd, oh, good friend

Slow me down, slow me down

Oh, good shepherd, oh, good friend

Slow me down, slow me down

A Longing to Slow Down

It seems that as my days are filled to the brim and I have “to do’s” from the moment I wake up to the moment I lay down, there is a growing longing to slow down and just be. I am so grateful that I have a Shepherd to lean on and that He is good and He leads me. I also love that He is a good friend. That simple reminder has been giving me such comfort as it’s gotten more difficult to schedule coffee dates and meet with friends in this season of life. Even more so I’m finding it’s just a challenge to find friends who are not only willing to be intentional and pursue me, but who also want to go deep and go past the surface level of discussing daily activities. I have a deep longing to be known and to connect deeply with people spiritually. In Psalm 139 David asks the Lord to search him and know his heart, to test him and know his anxious thoughts. I have that longing for family and friends to pursue me deeply, but it doesn’t quite look like that in this busy, frantic, always hurrying world. I find myself continually fighting an uphill battle and onslaught of media, news, ideas, technology, and hurriedness.

Productivity vs. Being Still

I am regularly combating a growing sense and need to be productive and accomplish something in the day. Unfolded laundry, a full dishwasher, toys strewn across the floor push into that desire for order and completion in my life. Even when everything is put away I’m working through a mental list of items that I didn’t get to in the day or that are still hanging over me-a card that needs to be sent to a friend, a list of thank-yous for a recent Meet & Greet for my daughter, planning an upcoming birthday, packing for an upcoming trip, ordering clothes for a family wedding, the list goes on and on and I wonder why I can’t get to sleep at night. I live with sticky notes and lists of items I need to do-both digital and paper versions. It makes sense to me then that I would gravitate towards a book that’s about intentionally pausing and making space to just be. 

Finding a Place to Rest

As I ponder what it means to just be, I am now sitting on a different porch in a rocking chair. I’ve joined my husband at a camp in Michigan for the week. Even with 500 campers, there is a calm and peace over this space. In Sacred Rhythms, Ruth Haley Barton encourages readers to create a regular routine or rhythm of slowing down, removing distractions, and meeting with God. She encourages people to find a space where they can be at rest and refreshed. For me, Michigan is a place where I have come since I was a little girl. I grew up in a home that was rich in love, but not in finances, so our summer vacations consisted of visiting friends and family at their homes. Fortunately for us we had dear family friends who owned a house on Lake Michigan in the Traverse City area. I have dozens of wonderful memories of swimming in the cool lake water, collecting shells, taking bike rides, and falling asleep to the comforting night sounds of the woods. In fact any time I’ve ever come to Michigan it’s been a place or rest and relaxation for me. So if I were to take Ruth’s advice and find a place where I could feel relaxed and refreshed it would be here. 

Being Intentional About Rest

I’m learning that finding rest requires more intentionality. If I want it I have to plan for it. It’s why God gave us Sabbath, but somewhere along the way that important day has been minimized and even replaced by my “to do’s”.  I was challenged to rethink how I and my family do Sabbath.  I was also convicted by the realization that I’m commanded to take a Sabbath, but that I’ve been neglecting to do so or in any case it’s been haphazard. I just recently shared with my husband that the longer I live on this earth the more I’m drawn to doing less. It’s not because I’m lazy and don’t want to work ( I just shared about my productivity addiction) but because I find my soul longing for simplicity and time to enjoy the elements of living at a slower pace. That is much of the heart behind Sacred Rhythms and the work I’m doing with Magnify Missions. Before we begin the workshop we build in a free day or day of rest for our participants. In many cases people arrive feeling frazzled, worn out, because they are stepping out of the full throttle of ministry. We want people to start by taking a day to slow down and rest and then out of that rest to dream and plan for the future. We don’t want it to just be a temporary rest though. Our mission and desire is also for people to make a plan for self-care and rest that will sustain them in life, relationships, and work. We can’t really think about the future from a place of fatigue and burn out. It’s why people keep doing the same thing without real direction. Christians, churches, and ministries are operating on auto-pilot not out of the vibrant, abundant well that flows from Jesus and the power of His Holy Spirit. 

Come to One Who Knows Rest Best

I’ve mentioned this before, but it keeps coming back to my mind-why would people be attracted to Jesus and want to follow Him if what He was offering was a frazzled, rushed life with so much activity but no time to truly enjoy anything? I know I’m not interested in that kind of life. Jesus was fully present to each moment and unhurried in His living. He spent time pulling away from others and life to meet with the Father. He was mindful of His need and His disciples' need for rest and slowing down. I find it frustrating that I long for this deeper connection with Jesus, but that I often fail to invest the time and reorient my priorities in ways that would even make that possible. That’s why reading Sacred Rhythms was so encouraging and refreshing because it reminded me of what’s true about myself and what is most important. It was also an affirmation of our focus in our workshops. It should seem obvious but I guess I needed to be reminded again that rest doesn’t just naturally happen. In fact our bodies and minds seem to be inclined to keep doing or fill the time with distractions that don’t actually provide rest. I don’t know about you, but shopping, watching several episodes of a series on Netflix or an hour of mindless scrolling on my phone never actually leave me feeling quite rested or refreshed.  If we want true rest to occur we have to be intentional about it, plan for it, and spend that time doing what actually fills up our souls. It’s slow work, but even just taking one day is a start. If you need some encouragement for how to begin developing a rhythm of rest, download our free resource, Finding Your Rhythms of Rest, as a next step. I hope you’ll take some time to slow down and meet with your Shepherd and good friend.


Sara Payne is first and foremost a beloved child of God. She likes to surround herself with people who love Jesus, be out in nature, work out, cook, and drink delicious cups of coffee. She is married to Ryan, an amazing man who loves Jesus, and also is (in her opinion) a rock star with a band called Attaboy. They have one beautiful little girl named Isabella who is a joy and delight! Sara’s first job after college was as a missionary serving overseas in Budapest, Hungary. She then transitioned into being a full time English teacher in a PBL school on the south side of Indianapolis, IN. There her mission field was high school students. After getting married, she worked for Magnify Learning as a Branding Manager and PBL facilitator. Since becoming a mama, she now works for Magnify Missions where she is able to combine her love of missions and teaching to serve and coach missionaries around the world.

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