A PATH OF SIMPLICITY

Lent is the perfect season of the year for solitude and self-reflection. As we spiritually journey into the desert, Lent is a time to re-examine our boundary lines and get realigned, set in right relationship with God and the world around us. I would like to suggest a Lenten path to travel as the days grow longer and Easter approaches, the path of simplicity.


Simplicity is not about poverty, or a renunciation of possessions, or a set of "dos" or "don'ts."  Rather, simplicity is a spiritual discipline that re-orients one's life by deliberately organizing it around a central purpose. Adhering to a focused center reduces the fractured nature of our lives. Our priorities become aligned to the focus of our lives, and the way we live out our simplicity in terms of our time, energy, and money becomes a reflection of our inner beliefs. On the most basic level, simplicity means being honest and sincere with ourselves about our faith and what really matters most to us.


To walk the path of simplicity we must believe that God calls us to it. Lent invites us to journey in the way of Jesus by learning more about His way and applying it in our lives.


In the coming days of Lent, allow Christ's light to shine more brightly in your life and lead you into a path of simplicity that helps you re-orient your life toward God in Christ.


-- Ann Hagmann in Alive Now Magazine, March/April 2002, published by The Upper Room, Nashville, TN.   Used with permission.




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