Tonight I wanted to jot down some thoughts I’ve been having about the word, “simplify”. It has been on my heart a lot recently and not just because I’m a missionary about to move overseas, although it’s definitely given a broader perspective.

I am little Miss “If there is a simpler way or easier solution, do it” girl :-) A pet peeve is overcomplicated situations and I have a knack for making things simpler and creating smoother ways to get things done. I even had a Pinterest page dedicated to such joys I find titled, “All Things Simplified”. Hey—it makes me breathe easier and smile haha!

I am so bent this way that before I could drive I challenged my parent’s choices of routes through Tulsa. For instance, it was habit for them to take a short cut through a neighborhood to get to a family restaurant where we celebrated birthdays and special occasions. This involved waiting to go straight at a stop light, driving a mile through a neighborhood with exactly 3 stop signs and then turning left at two lights which were usually red. Not to mention the two speed bumps in the neighborhood. I knew that if they were to sit in the left turning lane at the first light as opposed to going straight, they’d be able to go first, turn right onto the main street they wanted and turn right into the parking lot of the restaurant avoiding any delays of lights and neighborhood twists and turns. The day came when I challenged one parent to go my route verses the other parent who was going the traditional route. Of course, the simpler and easier path won, but it didn’t change the way they drive to this restaurant haha! Needless to say if I’m driving from their home, I beat them and save a table.

Because of this need to simplify and make the fastest path from point A to point Z, I know traffic times and can estimate travel anywhere in Tulsa. I’m always searching for ways around unnecessary traffic, construction and delays and possibly trying to be my husband’s GPS at times (I love you SK). I wish this very natural ability to simplify would play into my spiritual life more. Far too often I’ve found my walk with God full of noise, clutter, and excess busyness. There are times when I’m practically pulling my hair out, because remember I like things simple and life is just not that way at times. In those moments I hear Him calmly speaking a word of peace and wisdom that had I not freaked out I would’ve heard in the first place.

*sighs* Do you ever find yourself like this? Today, as I was getting my hair cut, my stylist was commenting about how God is not obsessed with activity, we are. It was never His idea for us to run a million miles an hour in a million different directions. We aren’t made for that and truly our bodies can’t handle that. He doesn’t ask us to be busy for Him. He desires the simple things from us. This is not a call to laziness or to not serve Him with excellence, but it is a call to simplify and focus on what matters.

I have a love/hate relationship with the story of the two sisters who were friends of Jesus, Mary and Martha. This story is found in Luke 10:38-42. So often I want to be Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus. BUT, and there’s ALWAYS a lot of “buts”, I’m like Martha who “was distracted by all of the preparations that needed to be made…” I am doing this and doing that and running here and thinking about this and “Oh rend the heavens here” and crying tears for the lost and hurting there….and overloading myself. I burn out and I have to reengage my spirit to be still and just BE in His presence. As my husband often says, “God made us to be human BEings, not human DOings.” AH! But (there’s that BUT again) where’s my identity if I’m not doing?!?! ::pulls hair:: —haha-you know you can relate!

I know that Jesus fully knows more that I do what I am capable of, yet if I am not doing what He’s asking of me, it’s vanity and there’s no grace to do it. There are days where the simplified thing to do really is to use the God given abilities to take on a lot of tasks, organize, pray, and do ministry. There are other days where He’s asking that I come, dial down, tune out distractions and be in His presence. To simply sit at His feet.

In as much as we’d like to simplify and organize our lives and traffic routes to make life smoother, we must primarily focus on simplifying and holding onto the basics of Christianity. To know Jesus is to love Him and He is worthy the best of us not just our left over burned out parts. In return for us seeking Him first and loving Him rightly, we’ll find the rest of our life simplified. That doesn’t mean life is SIMPLE, but it can mean that Jesus can guide us to the paths that are the most beneficial for us. Even if this to my dismay is a cut through a seemingly unnecessary neighborhood full of delays ;-)

Simplify. Simplify your walk with God. Ask yourself, what are you doing that isn’t of Him right now? What distractions are in your life that are keeping you from sitting at His feet? If you were to simplify more, how much more effective would you be with that renewed peace and joy from His presence?

“You’re calling me to lay aside the worries of my day
To quiet down my busy mind and find a hiding place
Worthy, You are worthy”