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| (Backyard visitor wants to stay South for the summer.) |
Life is complicated now.
I woke up and hit the ground running with anxiety.
Which situation needs
addressing first?
Which phone call is
most urgent?
Which plans need
rearranging?
Should I do A or B or
C?
I’ve had too much coffee.
I feel so confused.
Unfortunately, this is a state in which many of us have a
home address.
Instead of “Hi, my
name is Kim and I’m from Georgia,” I could say “Hi, I’m from the state of Confusion.” Or “Hi. I’m from the lovely state
of Anxiety.” Or “Hey. I’m from Discombobulation.”
Where do you come from?
The world swirls ever faster and more violently, it seems.
Yet I long to inhabit a state of Peace. A state of Simplicity. A state of
Trust. A state of Joy.
But there are so many choices and options. So many issues.
So much stimulation. So many distractions.
Mainly, there are so many Situations.
I am weary of dealing
with situations, aren’t you?
And that is the problem.
That’s what makes everything complicated. I am “trying to deal.” Doing instead of being again. Spinning wheels instead of stillness. Noise instead of
quiet. Complexity rather than simplicity.
‘Tis a gift to be
simple…
I force myself to sit down. Close eyes. Be still.
Trust me, it’s not easy.
Squirmy kid in the time-out chair at first. Gradually, deep
breathing quiets. Birds sing spring joy outside the window. Listen. Slow. Receive. Hear.
Finally, a dialogue:
But everything’s so
complicated. (Sniff, sniff, nose-blow.)
It doesn’t need to
be.
How can it not be?
Keep it simple.
It used to be so simple. I think back to carefree childhood
days. Dressed in starchy petticoats and patent leather mary janes, hair curled
on socks overnight. Sunday School. A little pink paperback book.
We would be tested later, to make sure we were serious about
“joining the church.” I’m not sure I had a clue what that actually meant at the
time.
More than 50 years later, these words come back to me:
What is the chief end of man?
To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.*
That’s it???
Two things, that encompass all.
Two things to do…
glorify
and
enjoy.
That’s so simple.
Or is it?
***************
What state do you live in most of the time?
If I can manage to “keep it
simple” for a while, I’d like to explore what those two verbs mean in days ahead.
(*Westminster Confession)
***************
NEWSFLASH! Granny's getting hip!
Follow me on Instagram at kimberlytarnold.
(I don't begin to know how to tell you to do this if you
don't know already.)
Photo at the top was my first offering. It gets cuter
after that.
Sometimes I feel like a goose, too. (But with its head cut off.)
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