I am an expert at making things complicated. I can take simple Bible study time and complicate it until I get frustrated and don't stick with it consistently. I think making things complicated runs in my family.
Recently I have felt the need to simplify things once again. At first I was drawn to the minimalist lifestyle. There is a plethora of ebooks, articles, and entire blogs dedicated to minimalism. Even some homeschool blogs have discussed the amazing benefits to simplifying and making life about what matters. One of my favorites is Simply Living for Him.
Simple living isn't about just stuff. It's about making sure you are living intentionally. For me, the intention is about living for Christ.
I noticed something one morning. I woke up, the sun shining brightly in my eyes. I reached up to the shelf by my bed and turned on my cell phone. As soon as it was on, I instantly clicked to Facebook. My first thought in the morning wasn't the Lord... it was Facebook. What had happened in the eight hours, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, that I thought was so important that I might have missed? I realized that it was habit to check my Facebook, then my email, then Timehop... I did this routine every morning! Every morning I would spend at least ten or fifteen minutes browsing through social media before making my way to the coffee pot.
What if I began my day by spending that ten or fifteen minutes in prayer instead?
And what does Facebook give me? Articles and news about all the stuff going on in the world that often puts me in a bad mood? Pictures of family or friends (or people that I am not even very close to) that can be looked at later? Advertisements trying to lure me into purchasing something else I don't need and probably can't afford?
I think I need a Facebook fast... and in that time develop the habit of beginning my day with the Lord.
What does any of this have to do with living simply? It's easy to let the unnecessary take too much place in our lives. Last year when we moved from a house to an apartment, and our living space was reduced by half, we got rid of a lot of stuff. Most of it I haven't missed. Now, as I look around, I realize how much clutter we still have, or have acquired since we moved in, I find myself restless. After years of being a clutter-bug, I find that the clutter now stresses me.
While it has been slow going, I have redone our laundry room and bathroom. I tossed ratty blankets from the linen closet (except the one made by my husband's grandmother when he was a boy). I am on the verge of doing the same thing with everything else, as I have time.
Recently, in my genealogy study, I stumbled upon a surprise. Since I was a little girl I have had a bit of a fascination with the Amish. My grandmother took me and my sister to Amish Acres for a weekend when we were young, and I loved how they lived. It reminded me of Little House on the Prairie. Old fashioned and simple, I have always liked researching them and reading about them. I spent a lot of time on my grandmother's farm growing up, and she lived a simple life, even though she wasn't Amish by any means. She had large gardens and hung her clothes on a line outside in the breeze. She centered her life around faith and family, and was a gentle, contented soul.
I was stuck on a branch of my genealogy. I assumed the line was Jewish because of the names. Then, I discovered that the branch was actually Amish Mennonite through a book published about the settlement where the family settled in the 1800s. Suddenly the intrigue that I felt towards the Amish wasn't strange. Just a few generations back, a part of my line was Amish. Suddenly I realized why I loved being on my grandma's farm. (Of course, the majority of my ancestors were farmers or preachers.)
Simple living sounds so wonderful to me. In my life, I have traveled many roads. I have lived in many places around the country. While I still love traveling, I have lived in big cities. I have lived near the mountains and by the ocean. I love them both, but the cities always made me feel a bit trapped. I loved gardening... which is hilarious because I kill houseplants. I love hanging clothes on a line, and have settled for drying racks while I am here in an apartment.
Most of all, I love the idea of purposely centering my life around my Lord and my family. There is something beautiful about simply focusing on what is most important. That means breaking the Facebook habit. That means getting rid of all the clutter that leaves me with that overwhelmed, stressed feeling. That means many things... things that run counter to much of culture today in America.
I'm okay with that.
I feel that time is short. Even if Jesus tarries, time is still short. The time with our children goes so quickly! I already have two married daughters. Sometimes I feel that I missed so much time with them when they were little because I was a career woman, working towards all the goals that culture told me I should have, and leaving my babies with sitters. While I did my best to spend time with them later, when I was a stay-at-home mom, I still remember the rushing and guilt from those younger years.
There are a lot of titles for the life that I am aiming for: Simple, minimalistic, old-fashioned. I don't know if my life will resemble any of those titles. I guess I'm not looking for a label, but a peace inside. The Amish call it gelassenheit - yieldedness to the will of God, a peace and calmness of mind and spirit. I know that the peace and contentedness and trust in the Lord only comes through time with Him and the choice to lean on Him constantly.
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 1 Timothy 6:6
My prayers are for the Lord to guide me on this journey into His will.
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