Pure and Simple

I had to use our “back up”  car yesterday. It’s 12 years old but runs beautifully. And, even though it runs great, it usually just sits in our driveway for the rare times when we need it. Yesterday was one of those rare times.

I slid into the worn leather seats and started the engine. Then it hit me…this car’s stereo is broken. No music. No noise. No sound. I began to drive down the street when the second thing hit me…I didn’t have blue tooth so I could not make any calls or talk on my phone while in route. No music. No noise. No sound. No calls. No social stimulation.

As I continued on the way I quickly realized that I was very uncomfortable with the silence. In fact, uncomfortable would be an understatement, for sure. I was actually bordering anxious… without sound, noise, a phone…

I thought back to the days when all the social networking was not my option and when driving in a quiet car was like a refuge or solace. I wondered how to get back to that purity of mind and quietness of heart. I realized that in my face paced California lifestyle there was a need to simplify…and I am  not talking things as much as brain space. Time to think. Time to be quiet. Time to process. Time to Pray.

Pure and Simple. Chasing after a relationship with God is the way to find ourselves and find our life purpose. It’s not in doing things but in being in a relationship with the God who made us. This takes place one day at a time, one moment at a time, one breath at a time. And sometimes we are going to have to intentionally shut the rest of the world out for a little bit. No noise. No sound. No cell phone. No social stimulation.

Psalm 25:4-5

“Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”

Today may this be the prayer of our hearts.

• Show me YOUR Ways, rather than me being consumed with MY WAY
• Teach me YOUR Path, rather than me trying to learn a new popular path
• Guide me in YOUR Truth, rather than me living in the truth of the culture
• Teach me YOUR Truth, so that my hope might always be in your faithfulness.