Simplicity

Today has been my thinking day. I have a lot to think about around here…it’s like one huge think tank where I’m constantly being pushed deeper and deeper to discover more about God, more about myself, more about life. Today’s thoughts rested on simplicity.

I think life has become overanalyzed. Moreso, I think a lot of times, our relationship with God becomes too complicated in our own minds. I know I have gotten trapped into the corner before of thinking that I have to bring this huge list of things before him. It’s almost at times like I’ve forgotten how to have a relationship…it turns into something much more goal driven than allowing myself to enjoy the journey.

We also talked in our community meeting yesterday about how we must continue going back to the basics in our faith because nothing will be achieved without the fundamentals. I heard that word many times over in my life and it’s finally starting to sink in….until the fundamentals are established, how can we ever expect to grow? If a tree cannot send its roots down into the ground, there is no basis at all for the rest of the tree to stand upon. It will fall out or blow over with the slightest wind. I think it applies just as much if not moreso to the Christian way of life. Until we are willing to devote ourselves to even the most seemingly basic things of our walk like spending time with God and praying, how can we ever expect to grow up or to remain steadfast in out Christian life? I see that as a theme at many points in my life…I assumed that I could continue growing as a Christian without spending any time whatsoever with God. I had a destination in mind and I was convinced that I could get there as fast as possible with as little effort as possible. And I was humbled from that mainly through the revelation that God is in this relationship with me for the journey, not just for the end goal. He has a heart that wants to enjoy the ride with us, to watch us grow and mature. I picture a parent who really just enjoys getting to live life with their child. They love watching their kid grow up, to see all the “firsts”, to be there for every major event and just to enjoy all the little ones. God does not want to be a theme park…he wants relationship.

So…simplicity. I see myself every so often just getting terribly bogged down with the ideas in my head of the way things are “supposed to go.” I feel like I should make my relationship with God much more complex than it should be, and I think a lot of people do that because, as they say, “nothing in life is free.” I am by no means saying that Jesus dying for us was free….it came at the greatest cost this world has ever known, but for us personally, we are able to live with God forever because He gave us the free gift of life through Jesus. No earning it. Nothing of the sort. And his love doesn’t have stipulations…he loves us just because he loves us.

My thoughts kind of trail off here because tiredness has hit. So, update on life. Since I got to Australia, life has hit just as hard as it had been going when I was at home. We’re in class most of the day getting certified to train and assess students. The Australian government dots all it’s i’s and crosses it’s t’s quite well. I should be finished with that on Friday (yay!), but this week is quite a bit of work still. The majority of my stuff will be done tomorrow thankfully. There’s just always something to do. Anyways…that’s all for now I think. I’m tired, so I’m off. Later gators.

This entry was posted on July 8, 2008 at 7:14 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.