The simple things

Personal Photo: Waking up this weekend to this view has helped heal a little piece of me that I was not sure I was missing. I slowed down, looked up at the sky, and spent time with God. It made me appreciate how He never rushes any minute with me and knowing that He takes His time with me encourages me to do the same with Him. I always find peace and renewed joy when I am with Him.

My eyes fluttered open to see the light streaming through the open blinds above my head. My ears picked up the sounds of birds right outside the window, and for a moment, the brightness made me jump with the concern that I had slept way later than I originally wanted to. I peeked at my phone and realized it was actually earlier than my alarms were set for a Saturday morning, only a little before 7:30 and I was awake. Considering I had stayed up late the night prior, I was surprised to find myself so alert at the hour, and I lied back down, pulled the blanket back up to my chin and considered how nice it was to spend these minutes curled up in my warm bed rather than scrambling to get out the door on time to make it to work, as my usual weekday routine demands.

Clay and I had taken a breather this weekend, took Friday off of work, and made it down to Tennessee for the first time yet this year. Being here one extra day afforded us the chance to really enjoy the time, and get to do things that we usually don't make the time to do. I baked a loaf of bread, picked out a new jam cookie recipe to try, and Clay made room in the car for his guitar to be able to play. I packed a few books to indulge in on the drive here and back, I made sure my colored pencils were sharp for a new coloring book I wanted to fill up, and Clay held a fire in the wood-burning stove in the family room throughout the day. As the day went on yesterday I felt the tension in my shoulders ease away, my impatience drift off into the horizon, and the ever-present pressure of making progress and pushing myself to do the daily maintenance things distance itself until I could not feel it.

I had not even realized that my struggle for a positive attitude recently came from me lacking to make time for the simple things that I adore so very much. There was something healing to me about baking bread, something my mom and I used to do together every week when my brothers were in their confirmation class at church on Wednesdays. I find it satisfying to be able to make something out of nothing, to smell the warm aroma coming from the oven, and to appreciate how just a few ingredients can taste so good when giving it the time to rest and rise before baking. We need the time to rest in order to grow as well; Chaos is part of life, it is part of the seasons we all go through, but when we lose sight of the simple things, let the weeds of responsibility and pressure wind itself around our hearts and confine us only to what we are tied to, we realize the joy we find missing is not beyond the horizon, but rather in the simplest moments of life.

Jesus encountered and experienced the rush of time when He was here on earth. He met people who were frantic, running out of time to heal, to find Him, scrambling through the pressures of day to day. However, we never meet a frantic Jesus, never see Jesus rush through one moment to get to the next, never read about any sloppy scramble Jesus fumbled through in order to heal everyone who needed Him in one fell swoop. No, Jesus was not worried about the time, was resistant to the pressure society tries to enact on each of us, and dedicated the time to each moment He was in so He could fully appreciate it. Jesus teaches us to slow down, to walk instead of run, to take our time and enjoy the simplest things in life. John 14:27 reads "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." This verse explains to us where we can find peace when the chaos of life takes over; it is found in the Lord, in being with Him, in spending our precious time praying and building a relationship with Him. We are reminded in this John verse that the world will never be able to give us this peace, but when we return to the simplicity of the love of the Lord, we are rewarded with His almighty and overwhelming grace.

Just as Jesus never rushes with us, when we slow down and stop rushing through our time with Him, we are able to appreciate the moment God has put us in, the gifts He has blessed us with, the creations He fills our world with. When we do this, when we take our time and put it towards the Lord, we find that we are cultivating peace, and a relationship that continues to grow. Matthew 13:31-32 demonstrates how something so small and so simple can turn into a stable foundation in our lives: "He put another parable before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." Here we are reminded of the power found in the simplest, smallest things in life. Planting seeds cannot be rushed, and it is a simple art, often not considered worthy of the time and effort. However, just like making our own bread, listening to the birds, and warming your hands by a fire, there is beauty in the simplicity, peace in taking the time to slow down, and faith in trusting that something small will turn into something mighty.

When life begins to create turbulence for us, starts to take our joy and push it to the side so we can focus on everything we have to do, we can remember that even through all the chaos, our peace and joy is found in Christ. We can always take a moment away from the rush, remind ourselves that it is important to slow down and spend time in the quiet with God, to appreciate the simplest of what God gives us in life, and get back to the little things that grow into some of the most joyful moments of the day. Focusing on time with God, abandoning the rush from day to day, and finding joy in the moment we are blessed with allows us to focus on the Lord, and create within our hearts a joy and peace that the world cannot destroy. Romans 8:6 tells us "For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." Peace is found in the simplest, quietest moments with God, and I encourage us all to seek those out, to slow down and make time for them, no matter how hectic life might feel. We can remember that God never rushes with us, never sloppily scrambles from one minute to the next, and therefore we can remind ourselves to take a step away from it all, and find joy in the simple things!