What is a Rhythm of Grace?

A Rhythm of Grace is an intentional way of regulating your days. In the Christian tradition, we often call this a Rule of Life — a way of ordering our hours (literally) to form us in a certain way. You can think of a Rhythm of Grace as an intentional schedule – a holistic schedule, if you will. Whether your days are chaotic and flustered, or empty and unstructured, your Rhythm of Grace is the structure that grounds you: you can come back to it to get re-regulated, re-anchored, and re-grounded.

The neat thing about a Rhythm of Grace is that it can be as detailed or as open-ended as you see fit for your season and your liking. Whatever guides you into more grace-filled days is the way to go. For example, if you are in a season with daily to-dos out the window, meetings back-to-back-to-back, and juggling a lot on your plate, you may find it life-giving to include in your Rhythm of Grace everything – literally every aspect of your day and build rituals around that. Maybe your afternoon meetings can be merged with an afternoon walk and you throw on your headphones for the call. Or, maybe after looking at your days, you realize you have more leeway during your lunch-hour than you realized and you fit a life-giving ritual into that slot. If this is you, you may find it helpful to keep your Rhythm of Grace highly structured and holistically integrated with all the areas of your days.

Conversely, if you are in a season with less structure and quite a bit of leeway and are looking simply to find some rituals and routines to ground you in grace, your Rhythm of Grace may consist of just that: morning, evening, and maybe afternoon rhythms that draw you back into grace, that you can rely on, and that you’ve designated as fit for your season.

One helpful way to think of your Rhythms of Grace is by thinking through an assortment of practices and sacred rituals that re-ground you when you’re having an especially off day. Is it an afternoon walk that re-centers you? Does going to bed with a clean kitchen give you a dose of peace that’s worth the energy of cleaning? I find myself especially grateful for the Rhythms of Grace I’ve created for myself on the days when I feel stuck in discouragement and defeat. I refer (whether on paper or even just mentally) to the Rhythms I’ve named and they slowly draw me back into grace. They remind me tomorrow is a new day, God is with me, and that I’m welcomed as I am: that’s the purpose of a Rhythm of Grace. Grace, rather than mere productivity (though you might find yourself more productive with your Rhythm of Grace, but that’s not the end-goal!). It’s more like grace-filled productivity. Grace-filled days.

For more inspiration on developing a Rhythm of Grace, refer to our free worksheet that you can download from The Grace Lab. And remember, your Rhythm of Grace is yours: it’s what re-anchors you in grace, so let it be guided by your own season, systems, and the Spirit walking with you. God is with you. Let your Rhythm of Grace remind you of this regularly. 

Now get to work and get into grace!