Simple Life

I used to live by a clock, a schedule/daytimer/Outlook calender, a constant "I've got to perform" mentality for so long yet these days I'm finding it refreshing to be able to say, "Nope!" All the running, doing, going, where does it get us? Alone, too busy for the things that really matter.

Today, I had lots to do: clean the entire house because we had company last week and we have company coming again this week, plan a meal for dinner, keep Caroline occupied on this rainy day, and try to find some time to spend with my husband. Yet, what are the things I could have missed today in trying to get it all done: Caroline's smile of success when she used the "potty", the joy in her face when praised for using her "magical manners", her laugh as we made an egg carton school bus together, a sparkle in the most beautiful hazel eye of the most beautiful man in my life, the joy to realize that I had forgotten someone else was making me dinner tonight and that was one less thing I had to do and because of their surrender I could simply eat, fellowship and enjoy. The list could continue forever. And still, I wonder how many other things did I miss?

When I push myself, I push those around me. Most of the time, it's not a loving push but a push of obligation. But shouldn't my only obligation be to live to the glory of the Father? Rather than living on the edge of sanity/dispare I should be living in love. I've preached this for years, had it preached to me and yet it takes the loss of a child to teach me what I've known all along. If I did what the Bible talked about and lived as "one of the least of these" I would savor every moment trustin in a God who loves me. I always thought we become parents and then we teach our children how to live. But, these days I'm finding that Caroline has a whole lot to teach me. I think that's an intimate portion of God's plan we neglect to understand.

I want to live the simple life. I want to walk in a life of love and live in a world of transformation. I want others to know that they've been with Christ when they've been in my presence and yet I ask myself, do I really? That would mean that my life would actually change. Hmmm ... go figure. When I ask someone how they are doing, I should really mean it and want to know how they are really doing, even if the details are far more than I imagined. If I tell someone I'm going to pray for them, I'm gonna. Wow! What a revelation!

Thank you, Lord, for the life and lives you have gifted me. May I live the simple Life! "Be My Magnificent Obsession!"