Hey Friend,
Dieter, the A/C technician, was busily going about his work replacing the thousand dollar plus evaporator coil. He was talking to our dog, Topper, in German as Topper eagerly brought him toys with which to play. Whistling and singing a Jimmy Buffett tune, Dieter suddenly stopped and asked, "Are you moving?"
Strange question, I thought. Then I looked around and surveyed every horizontal surface and there was stuff, stuff everywhere. Piles, boxes, items without a home. My husband and I have been married just three months and though we've been busy getting his stuff moved in and some of my stuff purged, it still looks as if a moving truck vomited in our house.
Add to that my grown son living with us having just been diagnosed with bipolar spectrum disorder, a daughter heartbroken after ending a three year relationship, a dog with dementia who "vocalizes" (barks at a high pitch every evening for a couple hours), a revolving door of workmen fixing everything from the roof to a structural/foundation problem on a house that needs a lot of TLC.
Everyday I wake up and think, what will be the crisis of the day? Gratefully, none of these problems are life threatening, but they do cause stress. Some days I yearn for the simplicity of childhood - before mortgages and car problems. Remember the days of no worries, no problems, no deadlines? When every day was a great adventure to be had and riding your bike on sunny days to the nearby park and playing was your appointment for the day. The only deadline was be home by dinnertime.
How in today's world do you regain that simplicity? As a child, subconsciously, I trusted my parents to take care of the big worries. My dad held the job; my parents paid the mortgage; together they handled the big stuff and innately I trusted. As I examine my life, I often find that I am missing trust that God will take care of the big picture.
I am missing trust in God for my protection.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. (Psalm 23:1-3)
When I am not following His leading, I get myself in trouble. The Lord wants to lead me beside the still waters. I can trust that He will protect me after all, He is the good shepherd.
"Kept by His power - that is the only safety." (Oswald Chambers)
I have discovered that earthly security is an illusion. Your only real security comes from the loving heart of God.
I am also missing trust in God for my worries.
When we yearn for simplicity, what we often yearn for is rest. Rest from worries.
Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
I need to learn to take my worries to God and then LEAVE THEM THERE!
"He stands fast as your rock, steadfast as your safeguard, sleepless as your watcher, valiant as your champion." (C.H. Spurgeon)
When I say I want simplicity, often what I really need is strength. Where does my strength come from? It comes from the Lord.
He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might he increases strength. (Isaiah 40:29)
To make a long story short: JESUS IS ENOUGH. Jesus is not only enough, He is more than enough.
When my heart yearns for simplicity what it is really longing for is a Savior.
My own self-made yoke is heavy and burdensome, but His yoke is light. If you are feeling heavy laden, chances are you need to hand over whatever "It" is to the Lord. He wants you to have life and have it abundantly like in the days of our youth when we had the freedom to simply enjoy life and leave the worries to our Father.
Jesus beckons, "Come my child, let Me carry the load. I love you and I long to give you the simplicity you yearn for. Take my yoke instead; it is light and easy." Will you exchange your yoke for His? He's waiting...
In His love,
Bev
This is beautiful. Water to my soul. Keep writing! <3
ReplyDeleteThanks Bekah,
ReplyDeleteI so enjoyed meeting you! You have a sweet and tender spirit! Remember you are a dearly loved daughter of the King! Thanks for the encouragement to keep writing!
((Hugs)),
Bev
I LOVE what you've shared here! I forget how I came upon your place here in bloggy land, but I'm so glad I did. I stopped by for the first time on 4/24. How do I know the exact date? Because I wrote it in my journal. You see on 4/23 I commented on FB - "I'm tired of being tired.... maybe I need a vaca" In less than 24 hours your post was the fourth thing I read that spoke about simplicity and slowing down to live the life God has planned for me. {Ya think maybe God reads FB?} Your words - "When we yearn for simplicity, what we often yearn for is rest." is what I meant when I wrote my FB comment. And that night I wrote in my journal something else you wrote - "The Lord wants to lead me beside the still waters."
ReplyDeleteSo, my new blog land friend, thanks for sharing what God put on your heart. It's meant a lot to me!
Hi Debbie,
DeleteI think God can work through whatever medium he needs to in order to reach us - including facebook :). I am so thankful that in the midst of my search for simplicity that your were encouraged to let the Lord lead you beside the still waters and find rest. We ALL need more rest than we think we do, and if you are anything like me, God has to hit me upside the head sometimes to get my attention. So glad you stopped by Debbie - know you are always welcome here. You are in my prayers for simplicity and slowing down!!
Blessings,
Bev