Living Simply

Over a year ago we felt the word for the year was “simplify.” Sim-pli-fy.  Such a vague word that carried a heavy weight….a heavy purpose. We weren’t sure exactly what it fully meant for us so we tucked it away in our hearts and mulled it over often. I read books on simplifying, listened to speakers on the topic….what exactly does this mean?  Webster is always so kind to lend a helping hand, so I looked to see what he had to say. Simplify (v.): to make less complex or complicated; make plainer or easier. Who doesn’t want a less complex life? Sign. Me. Up. We knew God was asking us to simplify our lives….entirely. Our schedule, our things, our commitments. Everything was about to get a major overhaul. On one hand I was overjoyed. Simple just seemed peaceful. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but wonder…what is the purpose in all this? It just seemed so counter-cultural. Downsize. Simplify. Reduce. In a culture that is all about upsizing, filling schedules, overloading calendars, and accumulating, more, more more….I knew this was about to be an interesting journey.

There was one thing that the Lord was after in all of this…our hearts. Would we open our hearts completely and let Him have full access to what he wanted us to cut out? Would we trust Him? Were we going to embrace this fully or would be sit back in our comfy lives and pretend it was just a crazy idea in our minds? We couldn’t dismiss the ways He confirmed or the way He continued to speak. We were on board…fully. Over the next year, there were a lot of things He asked us to give up along the way. We were very involved in church and had many responsibilities. “Will you lay it all down?”  He asked.  We had a home we loved, with space that was enough for everything we ‘needed.’ “Will you sell it?” He asked. We said yes. Yes to all. He was calling us to a deeper place with Him. A deeper place that needed less background noise and our undivided attention. Is it possible in a culture where we are focused on do more, spend more, have more, that we have so much distraction and less of a focus on Him? If my mind is constantly reaming with schedules, calling this person, meeting with that person, planning this event, managing this big house, up-sizing this car, managing a calendar that is booked 3 months out...how can we possibly keep focus on Him? How can we really hear Him clearly in a brain that is foggy with all the plates we have to keep moving? When the outside noise is so loud in our world that we have created for ourselves, how can we possibly hear His quiet whisper? We were at a place where it was simple: we couldn’t do it anymore. We needed Him more than we needed approval from people. We needed His voice above any others. We needed His rest more than we needed our packed calendars. We needed His peace, His joy more than we needed a comfortable life full of things that will eventually be in a landfill somewhere down the road. We needed the white noise of our lives turned off so we could hear Him clearly. I'm not suggesting God doesn't speak in the busy....in the crazy seasons of life. I simply think we were not created to be addicted to more....addicted to busy.

Buy more, consume more, have more--and it’ll suppress any appetite for  God.--Ann Voskamp

Fast forward more than a year, we now have half the space, in a simple 3 bedroom house and we couldn’t love it more. We have less than half the material possessions and haven’t missed one thing. We have less resources spent on managing a big house and more resources to give. We have a calendar that is filled with family time and time to really pour into ourselves. It has been the most life giving season for us. We stay in a purging state of mind…getting rid of anything not necessary.  We have not perfected this by any means, but we are in a constant state of working towards it. We want to be in a place where we manage our stuff, not where our stuff manages us. For us, less means more. Less stuff. More of him. Less of our desires. More of His. Less noise. More of His whisper.  Perhaps this is just the beginning of something even more He is calling us to, and if that is the case, then I say YES. Less is the new more.

*For the record, I’m not into extremes.one way of thinking…one way of living. This is just a glimpse of OUR journey. Your journey may look different. The common thing we can all walk away with, is there is peace in His plan. Freedom in doing what God is calling each of us to. For us, for this season in our lives, our call is to simplify.