Simplicity, looking back

The following is an old blog post I wrote that I thought you'd enjoy reading. I think it's from 2008. Here's a picture from back then, too (If you are looking for Making Space Mondays, it posted yesterday night):

I think to some extent all of us dream of a simpler time, when schedules weren't so rushed and people weren't so hasty about everything, when daddies took the time to read the Bible to their families every night and mommies took the time to set the table for a home cooked meal. I know I do! And I keep pushing that dream aside for when I move to the country and have land, or when I have more energy to cook and clean, or when I have enough money and time to organize all this clutter...and on it went, excuse after excuse. The Simple Life always in my dreams and always just beyond my reach!

I have tasted of this Simple Life, which makes it all the more aggravating that I'm not there yet! When I was a child I moved A LOT!!! But we settled for a three year period of time in a blink-and-you-miss-it town called Capitan, NM. It was the longest I had stayed in one place and I still call it my hometown. What wonderful memories of exploring the outdoors and stepping on cactus with our bare feet and going to the small town post office to see if your name would be called (the town was so small, we didn't have an address, so people would write to us using just our name and Capitan, NM).

I am starting to learn, however, that Simplicity is a state of mind and not a place. It's not about living on your own land, or even having your own yard (we don't), or baking homemade bread every week for your family, or decorating in a certain way. It is about a Slower Pace, about being Content with what you have been given, about taking hold of what the Lord has Blessed you with and making the most of it. Paul says in Philippians 4: 11, "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am". This is what I desire to learn, to be content with where God has placed me, and work hard at molding and building it into a beautiful home.

But don't misunderstand the word 'contentment'. Contentment doesn't mean being idol or staying in the same position. It just implies a peace of mind about where you are in the journey toward where you're going. I know I have a ways to go before reaching that place called There. No, baking bread every week is not the definition of a simple life, but if you know how and have the opportunity, by all means, bake homemade bread. If you must work outside the home out of necessity, don't lose heart, make the best of it, but pray the Lord makes a way--it is good to be at home with little ones. If you don't have a yard, don't go into excess debt just to get one, but do get your children outside as much as possible--the sun is warming to your soul. Let's not look at what we don't have. Instead, let's make the most of what we do have, and head in the direction we want to go.

Thanks for looking back with me! I hope you enjoyed. -Tabitha