Thursday, August 11, 2011

Struggle for Simple - Part One

"`Tis a gift to be simple, `tis a gift to be free..."

Lately I've been reflecting on simplicity and ways I can bring more of it into my family.  It's hard to live simply in a culture that is reflecting "more is best".  More activity, more toys, more food, more money...

But there is such freedom in less!

If I have less activity, I gain more time with my family.

If I have less toys, I gain a cleaner house and the time I would have spent organizing.

If I have less food, I gain an appreciation for it and I gain healthier eating habits (based on the typical American diet).

If I have less money, I gain more of a self-less view of the world around me.  I gain the opportunity to
trust my Lord to provide my needs.  I gain perspective into the lives of the vast majority of the world who lives with much less.

I am not driven by things, but by love.  I am not driven by other's expectations of me, but only by the One whom I daily choose to follow.

And it's hard!  It's hard to ignore the spinning around me, the desire to have the best-dressed children or to be the best-dressed myself, the desire to have the best well-rounded kids, the best decor inside my house and out, the desire to eat what those people have in their grocery cart (living simply in the area of food actually costs more these days, and wouldn't a bag of cheetos and maybe a pop-tart taste oh-so-good?).

But by nature, aren't the things that are hard the most worth it in the end?

After all, choosing to follow Jesus each day is hard.  Simple, yes.  But hard.

Today, I got to spend some time with my delightful 2-year-olds.  Their older brothers are at grandma's.  Rather than take them somewhere, we had fun enjoying each other right here at home.  Simple.

No comments: