Simplicity is a lost discipline that cannot be found by emptying your closet.
You can certainly Marie-Kondo your closet—it won't hurt your pursuit of the simple life—but it will get filled right back up if you don't make deeper changes. I think modular wardrobes, tiny homes, and people like Marie Kondo are popular because we crave simplicity. In our over-packed schedules and jammed junk drawers, we crave connection and intimacy that comes from having time for the most important people in our lives.
To me, it almost feels like time is created when we value simplicity—in our thought-life, in family life, and even in our approach to our walk with God. Maybe time isn't actually created (might be scientifically impossible) so much as perhaps we use what we have in better ways (e.g. family game night versus Netflix binge watch), but simplicity certainly makes the difference.
As a discipline (not a popular word, I know!), it doesn't fit into our capitalistic, materialistic, "hostess-with-the-mostest" American way of life. I don't think many of us have learned how to live simply. It's not built-in to our way of life like it seems to be in other cultures. (Can you imagine a whole city shutting down for a siesta?!)
Regardless of where and when we lost it, the need remains in our DNA: we were made for simplicity. Restful connections. Peaceful intimacy. Both with God and with man.
An excellent resource on building breathing room in your life is a book by Priscilla Shirer called "Breathe". It caused me to realize the one area of my life continually causing unrest and chaos was my career at Edvance360. I made drastic changes because of that realization.
What's the area in your life that causes unrest, anxiousness, and chaos?
For many of the women I talk with, it's their own minds. Their thought-life and walk with God are not restful, peaceful, or simple. It's legalistic, complex, and even an emotional roller-coaster.
If you are craving simplicity in your thought-life and your walk with God, feel free to contact me. This is what I live for! I also recommend the Celebration of Discipline book by Richard Foster and practicing the following excepts from Brother Lawrence (paraphrased for easy reading):
1) Whenever God asks you to do or be something that does not come naturally (e.g. be patient, stop yelling at the kids, boldly share faith, be faithful in small or large, etc.), say simply to God, "Lord, I cannot do this unless You enable me to do so. Please help me."
2) Whenever you have failed (e.g. acted impatiently, gossiped, yelled at the kids, spoken harshly, slacked off on devotional times, etc.), say simply to God, "Lord, only you can change me or fix this situation. Only your Holy Spirit can keep me from falling and mend what is broken. Please help me."
3) Talk with God simply, speaking to Him bluntly and plainly, asking for His wisdom, His presence, and His assistance in our daily tasks, while we are doing them.
4) Forming a habit of talking with God continually and referring all that we do to Him may take some repeated tries, but after a while, the love of God will help us do it without trying.
5) Do everything for the love of God and with prayer, no matter what it is, then His grace will be sufficient.
6) Never forget: Our purpose and focus is to love and delight ourselves in God.
Wiping butts and faces is transformed when it's done simply for the love of God. Thought-loops disintegrate and old habits die as we learn to delight in a God who delights in us. Failure—and success—become nothing more than another conversation with a God who walks and talks with us.
Grace sees all else fade in the light of loving and delighting ourselves in God.
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