I'm trying not to over think all of this. It's just been on my radar lately, and I've been seeking to make some sense of it. Some of the highest volume of readers on the blogs today, especially among young Christian women, are visiting sites that encourage old fashioned, home spun, good ole family living. Don't get me wrong. Please. There is much to be said for old fashioned, home spun, and good ole everything. But...
Are we not satisfied with life as we know it in 2012? Are we missing something? Is planet Earth just spinning way too fast for us? If we aren't living as if we were still on the prairie, are we living wrong?
While technology has without a doubt made some things simpler, it has also been the motor driving a world moving at such breakneck speed that we can't keep up anymore. We are out of breath from striving and running.
The more modern has freed us, the more we have become slaves to modern.
How can it be that in a world of inventions that were invented to make things simpler, we live so far from simple? Personally, I don't think the answer is in trying to go back.
The Bible says that God, "from one man made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live." (Acts 17: 26)
We are living in the exact place, the exact time, and surrounded by the exact things that God intended for us. We are on this planet, now, for such a time as this. No use trying to go back. We will be of greatest use when we fulfill our purpose in the here and now.
There is something that is so personal to me that I can't even share it at this time, but it has shown me that this IS the exact generation that I was to be born, to fulfill something that only I could do. My forefathers couldn't do it. It would be too late for my children. God chose me out of a long family line to be the one. He doesn't want me trying to go back. He doesn't want me worried about tomorrow. He wants me to be present in the here and now. With this husband, with these children, with these grandchildren, in this house, on this street, in this city, in this country. Now.
When I determine to go back to basics, I will go back to my Bible and the Word of God.
When I determine to go back to basics, I will heed the words of my Christ in Revelation 2: 4:
"You have forsaken your first love."
While my God may be complex and seemingly hard to understand, He is really quite simple. He is quite the simplifier of all things.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and Love your neighbor as yourself." (Deut. 6:5/Lev. 19:18)
Today...right where you are.
Your thoughts?
very well said. I tend to think of myself as an "old fashioned" girl at heart but at the same time I believe that God places us all exactly where he wants us. And besides...there is no way I could live without AC ;)
ReplyDeleteI second that - no way to live without AC ha!
ReplyDeleteBut on a more serious note, I often kid with my husband about being a housewife back in the 1800s or prior...and what if one of those were to visit us now, they would probably think we should have ALL this time on our hands yet we're somehow always out of time!
All the while I force myself to view these 'modern amenities' as the female servants of the bible. I dont have a servant to wash my clothes but I have a laundry machine, no one to wash my dishes but I have a dishwasher, etc. Trying to keep them going, planning it out, and automating my household as much as possible to free up my time oh and not to mention - disciplining myself with social media...
Anyways, this has become a novel of a comment - sorry - I love how you outlined this topic and highlighted the appropriate verses about going back to our first love.
Simplify - seems so 'simple' yet getting there is complex.
Patty from www.fanta4two.com
Very well said, Donna. I think so often we mix up culture with biblical understanding. We are all placed where we are by God for the time we are here. I have lived all over the world in different cultures and we have to adapt and live our lives as God leads and to be an example everywhere we are.
ReplyDeleteVery well said. I will be giving this some serious thought. Your words struck a cord with me. I love where I am. It is where I am supposed to be. In the here and now. Thanks so much for sharing these thought provoking words.
ReplyDeleteQueen Esther was chosen for such a time as this. Yes, we must keep our focus on what we can do for the Lord today. This is a wonderful age to be living in with all the technology etc.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing at Tell me a Story. God is leading you so simply follow!
Amen, well put.
ReplyDeleteFirst time visitor from the Seedlings in Stone link-up! I love your honesty. I agree - I've seen many places on the Net that want to rewind the clock. Frankly, I'd be terrible at it! I'm not comfortable in the kitchen, I couldn't fathom plucking a chicken or living without a refreshing shower. I appreciate modern conveniences, very much. That being said, I love how you wrote: "When I determine to go back to basics, I will go back to my Bible and the Word of God." I think earlier generations had it right as far as placing the importance on Scriptures. I agree with those basic principles. Thank you for such a thought provoking post! Nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteYou say "exact place, exact time". One of my mottoes, spiritually, is "right place,right time". That is what we need to understand in our present life. We are born in our generation to serve the Lord. Some of what is around us isn't much different than what was surrounding the first Christians in the Roman Empire days. Focusing on Him and seeking His desire for us is what we can do. Period. And that's all that truly counts.
ReplyDeleteI strive for a simplier life as well, where we focus on Christ, and family more than the driving force that seems push us ahead at "breakneck speed." Thank you for your post.
ReplyDeleteThought provoking post. Though I do appreciate the advances to date that make my life simpler, I also have an appreciation for those who came before me and had to do things a bit differently. I believe the Lord picked this time to have me on earth to accomplish His perfect plan unto His glory but I am blessed that we have a history to look back on. Thank you for sharing at WJIM this week.
ReplyDeleteThe Lord is all-loving, all-knowing, all the time. It is for this moment we were created, this time that we were placed on this earth. While there is much wisdom and simplicity that can be gleaned from looking back, our true gaze needs to be fixed on our God, who is our present help in time of need.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up at "Heartprint Hallelujahs".
~Stacy