This year, God has been speaking to me about the small life. I don’t want to call it small though, because that has a negative connotation. Small does not mean that your reach is small or your impact is small. To me, small is reducing your external hubbub – frenzy, activity, extensions – to increase your internal activity - growth, nurturing self, investing in relationships.
At the end of 2018, I started pruning things out – activities, groups,
projects. And it felt good. More space to breathe again. In January, I started committing to writing –
5 days a week, I try for at least 30 minutes, 2 hours is ideal. In January, I also traditionally vision for the new
year. This year, God gave me the image
of Mother Teresa – talk about small life, big reach. What did she say?
“It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start.
The greatest disease in the West today is
not TB [Tuberculosis] or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared
for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for
loneliness, despair and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who
are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love…
At the end of life we will not be judged by
how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great
things we have done. We will be judged by “I was hungry and you gave me to eat.
I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in.” (Matthew
25:35)
Changing the
world was not her goal. Loving those in
front of her was her goal, her mission, her passion. And through her devotion to love those close
to her, her simple actions had a world-wide ripple effect. That is the small-life I seek.
Sometimes, I
struggle to feel that what I’m doing, how I’m spending my time, is making any
impact whatsoever (Enneagram 4 anyone?).
My culture is all about your “brand,” how the wide-world perceives you. What platforms are you on? Who are you influencing? How many likes did you get?
The small
life is teaching me that the time and energy I spend investing on my internal
self is just as important, if not more important, than the time and energy I
spend investing on my external self.
And God is
confirming that for me again and again.
What a great
God we serve.
Ironic?
Significant?
Guided by a
cosmic force?
And the
peace I have is comforting; and the trust I have that God’s got an awesome plan
for my life is humbling and exciting. My
inner-self is not screaming, “NO, you can’t loose your yard, your identity is
in the garden, you will loose yourself!”
In fact, I’m thinking, “This will be such a great opportunity to explore
how my green thumb expresses itself in a smaller setting. I’m content having a ‘normal’ suburban
yard. Not everyone can have a giant yard
and that’s ok.”
This is so
unlike me. I am amazed.
And then, my
God is so kind to me… I see posts like this:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw4iSnIl5ix/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
“Whether you are a gardener, a farmer, or the manager of a park or nature reserve, you can take action to protect and restore habitat.” - Scott Hoffman Black, Xerces Society Executive Director
“Whether you are a gardener, a farmer, or the manager of a park or nature reserve, you can take action to protect and restore habitat.” - Scott Hoffman Black, Xerces Society Executive Director
and
“In our molecules and in our dreams, we are what we eat. Eating
close to home is not just a matter of convenience – it is an act of deeply
sensual, cultural and environmental significance. – Gary Nabhan
To me, these words remind me that my identity is not rooted in my
love of gardening and my knowledge of fruits and vegetables and my passion for
food use. My identity is not my brand or
my self-made persona. I can release all
that into God’s hands because he is trustworthy and because MY IDENTITY IS
ROOTED IN HIM and who he says I am!
Here are some other encouraging posts about the small life. May they encourage you to focus less energy
on your external self and more energy on your internal self.
“Live for the things most meaningful – and your life will be the
most beautiful.” – Ann Voskamp
“Your to-do list is worthless if it’s at the cost of driving a
destructive need-to-get-it-all-done bulldozer all over everyone who you love
and care about.” – Lyndsey Garber
“JOMO (noun) – Joy of Missing Out. Feeling content with staying in
and disconnecting as a form of self-care.
Antonym: FOMO” - Brene Brown
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 New
International Version (NIV)
16 Therefore we do not lose
heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are
being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and
momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs
them all.
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