"Become ruthless in your pursuit of simplicity" is the lesson to be learned this week. I believe that my walk with Jesus integrates Him into every area of my life. Therefore, things learned and obstacles encountered in any area have the potential to teach me spiritual truths. That was the case last week.
Always running in the background of my life is the feeling that I have too much stuff, do too much stuff, and can be distracted by too many things. Periodically, I make attempts to pare down possessions, activities and distractions in general. I do okay for a while, but slowly "stuff" begins to win the battle again. Hopefully, this week becomes the benchmark, when I can look back and say I began to make real headway in my battle against "stuff".
It actually started 2 days after Christmas, when I ordered flowers over the internet for my cousin's 60th birthday in OR. (That was my first mistake, according to Stan, but I don't know any florists in Portland, so...) Well, three weeks later, after several failed attempts to deliver, numerous lies from the Customer Service Reps, hours (literally) on the phone, I finally have a confirmation of a credit back on my VISA. Sometime in the middle of this, while on one of my holds, I had a picture of people in Haiti being killed, maimed and left homeless, while I am raising my blood pressure over undelivered flowers. I was so convicted about what really matters.
Going on at the same time, I was having numerous computer glitches at work that were making it impossible to do my job. Nothing earthshaking, just frustrating. Friday was the final straw. My computer at home caught a virus. I got scammed on a repair. But what really hit me was that I spent probably 8-10 hours trying to get everything running right. Can't live without
e-mail and Facebook, you know.
I went to bed late that night, determined not to be consumed by my stuff and its maintenance. Something that I'm always tellling the girls at the Well goes like this--"If the worst thing that happens to me is that _________(fill in the blank), I've had a pretty good life" I filled in the blank with "computer crash" and decided I had made it way more important than it deserved.
During all this I just kept thinking about the people in Haiti, and feeling so petty about what I had allowed to steal my peace. If something is going to steal my peace of mind, I want it to be worth it. I want the things that trouble me to be the things that trouble God. Please, Lord, give me Your heart, and Your eyes---forever eyes.
Oh, and for my cousin's belated birthday present----money to Samaritan's Purse for Haiti Relief. She'll like that more than flowers anyway!
Sharon, Thank you so much for your honesty and transparency about your struggles and growth. I love that I can still learn from you despite the miles that separate us. I, too, am struggling to simplify my days and spend more time at the feet of Jesus. It's good to know that I'm not on the road alone.
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