The Beauty of Simplicity
It's 10:30 on a gorgeous sunny Saturday morning, and here I am inside, still in PJs, being a total sluggard while I consume apple pie and peruse blogs. Isn't that terrible? Don't worry, I will spend some time outside, because we won't have too many more weeks of this kind of weather. I'll probably read outside, swim if I get hot enough, and if I feel really ambitious, I might go for a bike ride. But the beauty of a good Saturday is not having an ambitious agenda. Amen?
What's with the title, you ask? I'll tell you. I don't know. Ha ha, not really. That is, I'm learning about it. Now that I'm not teaching at the school, and I have fewer students, I'm experiencing a whole new pace of life. Something about our culture urges us to always be busy, stressed, doing something, going somewhere, being superman or superwoman. But I've been thinking about the great value (a Biblical one, too) of being quiet, of enjoying each day, finding pleasure in simple things, and just listening to His still, small voice. I've realized how much my attention span has shrunk in the past five years, where I find it difficult to just sit and read or cross-stitch or even pray. And how often have I just sat and listened to a gorgeous piece of music?
Wouldn't it be nice to step back a hundred years into a slower pace of life? Not that everything was wonderful back then, but I wonder if people were generally more relaxed, had better social relationships, and found more joy in small things.
Life is like a book: it has chapters, some exciting, some not, some short, some long, but all are crucial to the whole story. I think the secret to a great story is yielding to the Author and Finisher of our faith, Who has a divine purpose for each chapter. The challenge is that we can't skip ahead to the see the next chapters like we can in a real book! So all this to say that God's taking me through some challenging times right now, where I'm tempted with depression, sadness, bitterness, anxiety, etc, BUT somehow through His grace, I'm learning more to trust His heart, trust His goodness, be still, and know that He is God - my anchor, my hope, my song, my strength, my shepherd.
What's with the title, you ask? I'll tell you. I don't know. Ha ha, not really. That is, I'm learning about it. Now that I'm not teaching at the school, and I have fewer students, I'm experiencing a whole new pace of life. Something about our culture urges us to always be busy, stressed, doing something, going somewhere, being superman or superwoman. But I've been thinking about the great value (a Biblical one, too) of being quiet, of enjoying each day, finding pleasure in simple things, and just listening to His still, small voice. I've realized how much my attention span has shrunk in the past five years, where I find it difficult to just sit and read or cross-stitch or even pray. And how often have I just sat and listened to a gorgeous piece of music?
Wouldn't it be nice to step back a hundred years into a slower pace of life? Not that everything was wonderful back then, but I wonder if people were generally more relaxed, had better social relationships, and found more joy in small things.
Life is like a book: it has chapters, some exciting, some not, some short, some long, but all are crucial to the whole story. I think the secret to a great story is yielding to the Author and Finisher of our faith, Who has a divine purpose for each chapter. The challenge is that we can't skip ahead to the see the next chapters like we can in a real book! So all this to say that God's taking me through some challenging times right now, where I'm tempted with depression, sadness, bitterness, anxiety, etc, BUT somehow through His grace, I'm learning more to trust His heart, trust His goodness, be still, and know that He is God - my anchor, my hope, my song, my strength, my shepherd.
posted by Kristi | 10:40 AM
2 Comments:
Amen, Kristi! Preach it! :O)
good post!
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