I figured it out yesterday. Monks don't give bridal showers. That's how they make time for all that praying. Just think about it. No bridal showers, no weddings. No weddings, no children. No children, I rest my case.
So yesterday was Day 1 of the stress-less week. I was aiming for Seven Sacred Pauses.
I got one! A really nice one, at mid-morning.
Then the day happened. Pauses, pfft.
Afterwards, I woke in what I thought was the middle of the night and immediately thought, "Night watch!" Then it turned out to be 5 a.m., so I rolled it into NightWatchAwakening.
Clearly, I am not good monk-makings.
But I am totally OK with that.
Cuz I am a girl who loves her bridal showers and weddings and children and even the occasional bout of pure chaos.
I really enjoyed my one pause yesterday. I really enjoyed the rest of it, too. Every good and perfect gift.
And here are my little pauses-to-go, as promised:
- Night Watch - Psalm 42 - "praying to the God who gives me life"
- Dawn - Psalm 19 - "may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing"
- Mid-morning - Psalm 121 - "the Lord Himself watches over you"
- Noon - Psalm 34 - "taste and see that the Lord is good"
- Mid-afternoon - Psalm 90 - "Lord, through all the generations you have been our home"
- Evening - Psalm 139 - "tell me where to stop and rest"
- Bedtime - Psalm 23 - "goodness and mercy, all the days of my life"