This is a meditation on chapter 11 from our Way of Life.

Live your Life in a City with an Urban Rhythm

Growing up in a small city was wonderful. I had some of my best friends just down the street, others spread within the city. I was fortunate to live close enough to walk to school in both elementary and high school. We lived within walking distance to the downtown area, and to the Wisconsin river. I had a back yard where family gathered, and friends joined. A house big enough to have large meals with family and friends. It was never more than a seven minute drive to do our grocery shopping. Church was a ten minute drive. Everything felt close.

I now live in one of the most densely populated cities in the world. There are about the same number of people in my neighborhood in Paris as there are in my entire hometown. My apartment can only hold about 8 people max for dinner (and that’s a stretch!). Grocery shopping is a ten minute walk. Friends are a 40 minute metro ride away. The river Seine is a 15 minute walk, but a welcome gathering place to spend time and meet with friends. My pharmacy is two doors down. There are more than 20 bakeries within a 10 minute walk of my home. How I live now is drastically different than the place I grew up. Yet there are still striking similarities despite the difference in population of millions.

Living in a city this large is obviously different than the slight “urban rhythm” of my childhood. It can feel more busy now, or like it’s pulling me in more directions. Yet when I step back, I realize that the closeness of the rhythms of my life growing up echo the closeness of my rhythms today. I just interact with more people now. I’m reminded of the face of Jesus as I move about my day through those I encounter. It gives me more opportunities to reject or miss those chances, or accept and step into the way of Jesus.

Living life with an urban rhythm can look so many different ways depending on context. One big thing I’m truly thankful for, living in a large city, is the constant reminder that I am just one of many. That my quality of life affects those around me in a very real way. How I go about engaging with the world has a direct impact on my neighbors. I can’t escape it. And I love it. It is a constant reminder that Jesus asks me to love my neighbor. Each and every neighbor is one that God loves abundantly and without hesitation. So as I go about my life in my city, I am faced with the beautiful reality that God is in my midst. As I enter or exit the metro or grocery store, I am encountering our God. As I sit at the river alone or with a friend, I am encountering our God. When I go to a cafe for an afternoon coffee, I am encountering our God. Urban life doesn’t make it more difficult to follow Jesus, but it does invite me to move with intention to not miss encounters with our God.

Photo Credit
Jordan Prins on 1 July 2026 in Paris, France.