Greetings!

I was tempted not to write anything today, perhaps due to sheer laziness…not wanting to do anything on my day off from di werk but more precisely, because the older [not just chronologically] I get, the more I long for times of doing nothing…of being quiet with my thoughts, reflections…with God!

This desire is not just for today; I have in the last couple of years…before Covid-19 barreled its way into, changing all aspects of our lives and living…been feeling the pull – the longing for what I will refer to as…a simpler way of being! I really should not have to fuss, fret or fight, with the billowing winds or waves of life, because within that boat of my being, is the stiller of every storm. In short then, I am longing for wholeness – for disconnected pieces of [my] life to be reconnected so that the whole, may reflect the Imago Dei…the image of the divine. 

Over the weekend, as I tried to catch up on my reading of scripture and the related literary resources that enliven faith’s  marathon and more especially, the Lenten leg currently being run, I happened upon some prayers with phrases that grabbed hold of my attention, albeit in the tenderly persuasive way that made my heart respond. I knew without doubt that Holy Spirit was involved and so, stepping out of the ill-fitting shoes of skepticism, I bared my soul and experienced the firm cushioning of holy ground, waiting with bated breath, for what was to come.

As I stood, a phrase in one of my readings, taken from the song Oceans, composed by Matt Crocker, Joel Houston and Salomen Lightelm, burned its way into me. I knew in an instant, that my longing was not so much for a simpler way of living but for the daily, sacramental expression of an ever deepening spiritual anchorage, that testifies to – and here’s the phrase – ‘trust without borders’. Pause for a while and let those words sink in!

I reached for my best friend of a book, which I am re-reading this Lent – Celebration of Discipline, and there, highlighted by me, for me, were author Richard Foster’s words that helped to clarify my longing. “Simplicity is freedom…an inward reality that results in an outward life-style…experiencing the inward reality liberates us outwardly.” Siit deh!!

The longing for a simpler way of life is really for inward and outward expressions of trust without borders…in the One who is lover of my soul; the One without whom it is impossible to experience shalom, not only during this differently difficult time, but in every experience of life, on this side of eternity.

So…yes, this may seem very much like soliloquizing, but I would respectfully offer that in light of earth-runnings, the difference between your and my circumstances…your and my longings, is but a matter of shades…that will always render null and void, any professions of spiritual superiority, on my or your part. When we can recognize and accept the truth that individually and together, we’re all pressing on the upward way, we will also accept the fact that it is only by God’s grace, that we gain new heights every day.

That we may not always articulate our experiences in the same way, does not make redundant the ability to learn from each other. I would therefore make bold to say that the desire for a simpler way of being, is as universal as it is individual…as corporate as it is personal. When we take time…you and I, to observe the world and each other through simplicity’s prism, we will find that though diffused in many directions, the light reflected therefrom, is still the One True Light…the source of life, in all its fullness.

I would still like to spend an entire [or half] day sleeping or better…not feeling any compulsion to leave my bed on my day off but…let it be so for now.That towards which I am and hopefully you are being channeled in this season, is deeper, more meaningful acceptance of the fact that in clearing the clutter of ostentation from our lives, we are in effect, making room…making ready for the Spirit’s filling, along with whatever other surprise She may choose to bring, as we learn to live simply, that we may simply live.

Until next week, continue to remain safely ensconced…in His grip!                            

Grace+