I say with confidence that, to some degree, you can relate.
1 Thessalonians 4:11 reads...
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands.
Upon reading this, I admit, I am a bit discouraged. Really Lord, how am I to lead a quiet life? Remember those three boys you gave me?
Let's investigate.
I got the biggest kick out of this...
Quiet (hēsychazō) means - to rest, not running hither and thither, but to stay home and mind your own business.
Hither and thither are not words in my everyday dialect, but oh so telling of my life. I am constantly running hither and thither and always feeling a bit whithered by it all. And I do it to myself. I am one to go and go and go and go. But how much more would I experience quiet if I would make it my ambition to rest, stay home a bit more and back away from so much hithering and thithering?
A couple of weeks back, we took to a trip to West Tennessee to visit grandparents. I have been there countless times over the course of my marriage, but this last visit I couldn't get over the simplicity of Brent's grandmother's land and her life.
Mema wrote the book on the quiet life. She has one fuzzy TV channel (that she rarely watches), reads everyday, hems a lot of pants, teaches Sunday school, makes jars of jelly, cooks every meal, sends cards in the mail, loves walking around her yard, works in her garden, prays often and leads a very content, pleasant and peaceful life.
So much to be desired.
So I am asking myself...how can I strive for a more quiet, restful life? What does that look like for my family?
How do we balance family, relationships, jobs, school, ministry, finances and home but yet not wear ourselves out running hither and thither?
Let's start by enjoying a cup of joe, and a little quiet reflection.....
The work shed in a sea of green.
Can you imagine how dreamy the rain sounds on this tin?
The side yard.
Rethink Target ;)
"...and work with your hands."
FunMaker's could never reproduce this.
Simplicity.
A little boy's dream.
I'd love to hear how you strive for quiet.
Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all....
2 Thessalonians 3:16
Becky I just love this ....just finished listening to one if my favorite songs by Christy knockels Be still and know... How I need more if this when most ted I feel like I can't think straight for all the noise mine make!!!.....some of my dear friends in Arkansas would get together to pray each week but we started w about an hour of listening to praise music alot of ones that reflected and proclaimed who God is...called it our soaking time before we prayed ...I would often have thoughts of what am I doing ?....I have so many things to do!!!...but it was like a fast from the world and it made me rest before the Lord...am in Texas now and then back to Arkansas will be back the 11th in TN maybe we can connect!
ReplyDeleteLove Christa
Wow! What a great reminder! I have all the elements your Mema does - I just need to embrace it! I wish I only had one fuzzy channel at times too! No more hithering and tithering for me!! Love you, Cynthia
ReplyDeletethis so speaks to my soul. growing up on 100's of acres of rolling farm land, my heart still longs for the peace and stillness of it. i just can't figure out how to do that with my family here. i feel like my sweet kids live life running in the car from here to there and i hate that for them. how do we do live quietly in the suburbs?
ReplyDeletewe've really slowed down our lives. we only use cash. I'm very careful with my spending now so I rarely need to return anything. I rarely shop actually because once my cash for that is gone~ it's gone. I keep my house simple and organzed so that its a quick clean up and we've started eating most meals at home instead of going out all the time.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful reminder! I love the verses in Psalm 62- "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him..." This reminds me that even with the craziness of young children, taking care of our home, etc. my rest comes from God! I run to Him when all life is "running, running, running"- even if that means I have to "hide" in the bathroom for a few moments.:)
ReplyDeleteJessica
I cannot TELL YOU how this speaks to me! You obviously struck a nerve (as evidenced by all the posts of agreement). The verse you referenced at the beginning is one of my faves for memorization - primarily because it is in such stark contrast with my everyday experience. I like to grin and interpret the "work with your hands" part as God giving me permission - commanding me, even - to work on my scrapbooks. :) You think I can get away with that? BTW, the Lord has shown me a lot about myself re: perfectionism. It ain't pretty. It is responsible for a lot of my striving. I found a great blog once about this, but I seem to have misplaced it. :( If I find it again, I'll send it to you.
ReplyDelete