Rhythm of Life, Rhythms of Love

I’m not a very good dancer. I think it’s to do with self consciousness plus lack of practice. I wonder if a great teacher would help?

Our task for August/ September was to pray, to intercede, in a listening way, for the people on our frontlines, the places where we spend time with non Christians.

We were invited to pray for someone we know, asking God, Who do you want me to pray for? I was praying at home. My street is one of my main frontlines: I can see my neighbours right there: we are completely overlooked in suburban Staple Hill, especially in our house on the corner. Our relationships here are fairly fragile.  Although we have been here a few years now, people mainly keep themselves to themselves, and I’m as guilty as anyone of scuttling indoors as soon as I can when a cold wind’s blowing or I am dashing off to an appointment.

I have. however, been praying for neighbour of a different faith and ethnic background to me, ever since she moved in with her family a year or so ago. Initially, friendly contact was made and seemed to be appreciated on both sides: mainly in the form of food gifts. I sensed a desire to go deeper, a loneliness, but when I tried to reach out, it never seemed to work out. We seemed to be always out of step. Arrangements were made, then cancelled. I didn’t have the courage to just pitch up on the doorstep. Different cultural norms of how to connect. Busy-ness putting it always to the bottom of the list. Insufficient love on my part, seeing it as duty, rather than a chore. Months slid by.

Then as we put praying for people on our frontlines as a Rhythm of Life practice, I asked, Lord, show me who you want me to pray for. And of course this person came to my mind, as I sat there. So I prayed for them daily (ish) for a month. And of course, when you keep praying for someone, they come into your mind at other times. They rise higher up your agenda. I asked God to give me greater love for this person, for the rhythm of love to beat through me.

And then things started happening.

We were in the garden at the same time, and a call came over the fence for a chat.

I was invited for coffee, and the arrangement was actually kept. Someone told me that where language is a barrier, cooking is a great way to bond with someone, so when my brownies were admired, I offered to show her how to make them, and, rather than just passing on a recipe, invited her to come over and we would cook them together, which we did a week later. A small thing, but it felt like our steps were beginning to co-ordinate. A return visit to learn how to cook chicken biryani is still pending, but I want to pray that the thread isn’t lost, that the connection doesn’t tumble down the to do list again.

The Rhythm of Life practice for October/ November is Serving, and we can serve in ways such as this: reaching out in friendship to a lonely person, especially someone who doesn’t have the local network of friends that most people around here have. Serving doesn’t have to always be about organised events and rotas. But it does have to be about love. If I don’t have love, to paraphrase a famous passage from 1 Corinthians 12, my movements are stilted, my timing is off, I’m not connected to the Lord of the Dance, and the groove just isn’t there.

The spiritual practices of a Rhythm of Life are not separate from each other. They tumble forward one from another in the dance of grace: as the love of God flows in me and through me, seeking new hearts to invite to join in with the rhythm.

In December we will turn to the spiritual practice of hospitality. Chicken biryani feast, anyone?