Day 1: Why Simplicity?

The year was 2000. It feels like yesterday in many ways, and it others not. I was a single gal moving into an apartment on my little lonesome, and I was working for Southern Company. I had been called to missions, and the only reason why I was working as an engineer was to save money for seminary. When I saved enough, I would go to seminary and then off to the mission field. I dressed simply – wearing clothes that were not modern or fashionable, and the best thing I wore was a smile on my face and a hello to my co-workers as I passed them in the hall. I bought the basics of my needs, because I was saving for something else.

Well, the plan was different than I thought it would be. I got blessed with a hubby and three kiddos. Alas, I am not in a foreign country and I am not a missionary in the usual sense, and… the closest I got to seminary was one online course and a couple of years of bible college.

But in the hoopla of settling down, I got used to things as most people do. Though I had never wanted fine china or even a big house, I was soon slowly submerging myself into a killer mentality that was something akin to keeping up with the Joneses. I was mingling with believers who placed more importance on social skills and having a new bowl for every season of the year than I’d ever known before, and being shy and awkward, my people pleasing kicked in to fit in with the crowd, and I began to forget who I was and where I was going. I wanted a different version of me – the one that fit in with the environment instead of the me I was created to be. Different, unique, with her own voice and way of doing things.

For years, I began to want that bigger house, even up until this past spring, the twinges of desire would come and go, and I’m not saying they are gone for good, but I realized something earlier this year…

If my heart is for missions, like deep down inside, I’m not doing anything to put my money where my mouth is, and moving into a bigger house will not complete that goal. While I’m not saying I won’t move into a bigger house one day, I am saying that my life needs to exemplify what I believe in.

Listen though, there is nothing wrong with big houses, not inherently, but I think that for me and God’s plan for me and the heart He’s asked me to serve, maybe there is. I mean we can use the things He gives us to minister – big or small. So simplicity is not about big houses or little houses or in between houses.

What is simplicity about? It is about Seeking First the Kingdom of God, and All These Things will be Added to You.

God first. I had forgotten it, and it was in the midst of doing a lot of  good godly things that I realized this truth. Things like women’s conferences and bible studies and homeless ministry. I was trying to find my own way, and I was maxed out. So this school year He said, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted about the nations, I will be exalted among the earth.” (Ps 46:10).

I am not an expect – in fact as in most things, I am probably a simplicity fraud, but He is leading me there. And I am running hard after Him, and I doing it slowly so as to enjoy the journey He’s placed me on. I am saying no to things I used to say yes to, and yes to time spent for Him. It’s a better tradeoff.

Wanna go on the ride with me? Let’s go. How He directs you to simplicity will not be the same as He directs me, because His purposes for each of us are different (I imagine), but we can learn together and encourage each other on the journey.

Weekdays we’ll take on different aspects of the spiritual nature of simplicity and then journey into practical topics. Saturdays will be a poem, and Sundays will be a word of Scripture to chew on. It’s gonna be fun – simplicity makes space in our lives for Him and for enjoying what we have.

I admit I have mostly let God lead me, but here are some resources I have either read or browsed for this series:

1. “The Celebration of Discipline” by Richard J. Foster
2. “The Freedom of Simplicity” by Richard J. Foster
3. “7” by Jen Hatmaker – I will be honest and say I haven’t finish this one as I didn’t want to be tempted by her wonderful voice and wanted to share my own.
4. “Simplicity” by Betty Malz (I think this one is out of print.)

Photo Credit: Sharon Mollerus