Give me the simple life. PLEASE!

 
The older I get the more I crave simplicity. When I was growing up my dad loved pointing out old homes and saying they had potential. Usually this made me cringe because these homes lacked the newest furnishings and fads. To my young world view that made them not worth much. Now I see how wrong I was. How I would love the have a simple, off grid home that allowed my husband and I to savor these last few years with our kids still under one roof. We spend so much of our life chasing things and activities. Wanting the most current, trendiest products. This leads to having to work longer hours and spending less and less time with those we love and less engaged in activities that feed our soul.

One thing we Americans know how to do is create more debt. In my lifetime I have seen us add internet bills, cell phone and data charges, costly electronics (that are usually outdated in less than a year) and the increased electrical bills associated with all of the must have gadgets. Then there is the plethora of extra curricular activities for our little ones. Now I am not condemning these things, I am merely pointing out an alternative way of looking at life.

Gone are the days of baseball with our school mates in a vacant field, bike riding around the block for fun and meeting at Sally's house for games, cookies and Kool-Aid. We now shuttle our kids from activity to activity a lot of times because we feel guilty if we don't allow our children to do what everyone else is doing.

Our homes are buzzing hubs of electronic toys. What would happen if we just said no to this way of living or at least downsized our fascinations? If we went back to sitting around the living room while dad read to the family or we gathered around our piano with our beloved hymnal? I think we would find a peace we have always longed for. What blessings could we pour out into our communities with our increased time and finances? How would our children benefit in seeing us love on one another instead of accumulating things that will eventually loose their newness?

Now my dad has gone on to be with the Lord and I am the one pointing out homes with "potential" and I get the eye rolls and sighs. I hope their hearts are listening and that my kids will one day seek out the simple life to savor the time God has blessed them and their families with.