Spiritual Formation for ADD folks (and everybody living in a noisy world…)
The couch was scratchy and is surely some sort of polyester blend designed to be durable. The fabric pattern was distinct, but not in an artistic way, just interesting enough for it to be nonconfrontational. The walls were some hue of taupe that had about the same effect. The room was interesting enough to not be interesting. “Have you ever been diagnosed with ADD?” I refocused on what was happening and laughed and said, “Yep.” This was the final stage of ordination, a session with a therapist to help me know myself and identify warning signs. Ordination is a process that took me close to seven years, a ton of late nights, and the exact reason I have a serious coffee addiction. This is something I had been asked before, yet it hit different. In my pursuit of ordination, I had completed my master’s and a rigorous process to show dedication, growth and diligence. Surely after this I had overcome the weaknesses of my personality. As a kid I was interested in everything but could not finish anything. I was grown now, I had learned to focus and grind until the task was complete. What about when there is not a definitive project to be completed?
I had been so focused on finishing ordination that the reality that I would not always have an exegetical paper on the Old Testament prophets and three theological books that must be read by the end of the week had not really entered my radar. The tasks of ordination had kept me immersed in the Bible and the constant interviews and mentor meetings were the accountability I needed. A few weeks after this session I would graduate, and the elders of the church would lay their hands on me and ordain me to do the ministry I had been preparing for. After that moment there would not be an external force guiding my studies and spiritual formation.
The freedom to explore and study what I was interested in seemed so appealing, but for someone with ADD it was a ticket to get nowhere fast. I find myself interested in a million different things and unable to complete any of them. Do you struggle with choosing what to pursue, and to finish what you start? Maybe you do not have ADD, but just are not sure how to grow in your faith because of how many competing voices there are, it is just too noisy to be able to focus on one thing.
If this sounds familiar to you, here are three tips to spiritual formation in a noisy world.
First, reading the Gospels consistently (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) is the most important piece of any plan for spiritual formation. Every week you should read a portion of the Gospels. I would recommend starting off by trying to read a complete Gospel each month. This simple. First, determine the frequency you can read the Bible in a week, say three times, and then divide that by the number of pages in the Gospel you choose. For example, I am able to read 3 times a week. That will be 12 sessions per month. The Gospel of Matthew (in my Bible) is 33 pages. Each session I will need to read a little less than 3 pages. You can do that!
Second, pray consistently. Prayer can be tricky, not because we do not believe in it, but because we are not sure what to pray about! That is completely normal and is understandable. The reason we teach our kids prayers that they can repeat is so that they can learn how to pray. You are no different! Sometimes we just do not have the words to pray. In those moments you can pray a prayer that was written by someone else. I strongly recommend the Lord’s prayer. It is a powerful prayer given to us by Jesus, it is worth memorizing and consistent praying. It is found in Matthew 6 and an abbreviated version in Luke 11. Another great prayer that you can say is the “Breastplate Prayer of St. Patrick.” Using someone else’s words in your prayer is perfectly fine and will often help you find your own words.
Third, join corporate worship consistently. Gathering as the Church and singing songs of worship and hearing the word of the Lord corporately is so important. We are tempted to take this journey of faith on our own, but it is not possible. We need each other.
All of these are about consistency. Plan a time and place to do these things. If you allow yourself too much freedom you will run out of time and forget to do them. Decide the days and times you will read your Bible. Write it out on your daily schedule, commit to the time and have your Bible sitting where you intend to do it. Set an alarm on your phone to remind you to pray. Save a picture of the prayer so you can read it if you need to. An even better trick is to write it on a postcard and keep it in your pocket. Staring at your phone will remind you of the million things that want your attention. Postcards do not do that… Church seems to get put off because of the tasks that must get done. The best way to overcome that is invite a friend to go with you or tell someone that you will see them at church.
If you commit to these three things God will start to mature your faith and you will grow spiritually.
