Week Thirty-One - Keep It Simple

Let's think a bit today about the idea of keeping things simple. Simple, instead of complicated. Simple, without contaminants. Simple, easy to see or understand, and not clouded by activity, rhetoric, or crafty designs.

What would your day look like if you made that your goal? Maybe you'd choose something simple to wear, have a nice little breakfast, and an uncomplicated schedule. You probably wouldn't be striving to compete and frustrated at every hindrance. Instead, you'd take things in your stride and end the day satisfied you had done your best. Then, after a nice little supper, you'd pillow your head in peace. No fuss. No complications. 

Our days rarely go like this, though, do they? Instead, we fret over what to wear because of who will be seeing us and the image we want to portray. We skip breakfast and rush out the door because we allow the demands of our lives to be more important than a good start to the day. We hustle and hassle all day long with people, ideas, and pressures arriving home too late to enjoy a good supper, so we grab whatever we can find, flop on the couch a while, and wake up the next morning to the same routine. 

Something needs to change! And it begins with re-evaluating our priorities and changing our habits. Lockdown should have helped us in this area, but instead, it looks like we all bolted to the door and re-entered at the same speed or even felt we were behind. We didn't change anything. We didn't take time to re-evaluate and simplify. No, we just kept going and added more stress. We would have been wiser to evaluate what to add back, what to amend, and what to leave behind. Then we could have come through less complicated, less contaminated, and more focused on God's glory.

I can't tell you how to simplify your life because each life is different. But I can encourage you to pare things down, chop down that to-do list, and give yourself some space. Life is not about how fast you get to the end. It's about enjoying the journey. 

Did you know simplicity and contentment are kin? It's hard to have one without the other. So I challenge you to look at your life. Is it simple? Are you content? What is making it complicated? Can you re-adjust some things? What is causing the insatiable drive? Is it pushing you too far? What would your life look like if it was uncomplicated, without contaminants, easy to look at, and unclouded? Why not choose a couple of areas where you can change things around? 

Let me share some suggestions from Adele Calhoun.

1) Simplify things and activities that keep life convoluted, complicated, and confusing.
2) Prioritize your love of God first.
3) Downsize your possessions.
4) Cut back on shopping and uncontrolled spending.
5) Eat simple foods.
6) Enjoy simple pleasures.
7) Remove distractions and preoccupation. 

What will this do for you?

1) You'll have a less cluttered life.
2) You will become a more precise, more distilled person.
3) You will have more space for loving and serving God and others.
4) You'll begin experiencing freedom from envy and entitlement.
5) You'll learn to stake your identity in God's love, not accumulation and possessions.

Those all sound fine, but the most beautiful thing I find about keeping life simple is time. Extra time to enjoy things God has given me and time to sit quietly with a thankful heart.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-19c is a great reminder - "It is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion...this is the gift of God."

So, dear friend, slow down. Take a breath. Let some things go and enjoy what God has already given you. Make life that simple!