If you have been reading and following our journey, you will see we have been processing simplicity, and what that means for us as individuals, as parents, and as a family. Some of what it has meant is simplifying our schedule (we have no extra-curricular things on our plate right now, other than volunteering - just "being" is so important for us all!!), and simplifying the clutter (we have continued to give stuff away. The Christie Refugee Welcome Centre in Toronto is always in need of things for families that are looking to start again.). We continually examine how we spend our money so we will spend less, freeing up resources for those that need it. What freedom!!
Then, in the awesome little Thursday evening group I'm a part of, someone recommended reading 7: an experimental mutiny against excess. I am a reader and it sounded intriguing. Plus it was available from our public library. Free reads are even better. Well, talk about being challenged on so many levels, to the core of who I am. I can't stop sharing about this book, and I'm pretty sure everyone is tired of hearing me blab on about it, so I thought I would share about it here so I could process it in community.
Jen Hatmaker, a thirty-something mom of 3 (at that point, now a mom of 5), was encouraged by a friend to do her own social experiment right when she felt God was confronting her with her greed, excess, materialism, consumerism, envy, pride, comfort, insatiability, and irresponsibility. Her social experiment was simple: 7 months, 7 areas, reduced to 7 simple choices. It was a fast for her: an intentional reduction to make room for the important things, to let God do His thing. Jen wanted to repent of some of these things, set an example for her kids, and she wanted to untether from the lie of "more". The 7 areas were food (she only ate 7 foods for the month), clothes (she was allowed 7 articles of clothing for the month), possessions (gave away 7 things her family owned, EVERY DAY), media (no TV, gaming, Facebook/Twitter, iPhone apps, radio, texting, and Internet), waste (7 habits for a greener life: gardening, composting, conserving energy and water, recycling, driving only one car, shopping thrift and second-hand, and buying local for one month), spending (only spent money in 7 places for a month), and stress (she started to take a "Sabbath", a day of rest, and she paused and prayed 7 times per day, based on Seven Sacred Pauses). Some of you are probably thinking this chick is CRAZY, but was this book ever convicting. And God taught her so much.
Here are my own 7 lessons I have learned that have changed how I do life:
- As Jen learned, no one noticed that she only wore one pair of jeans, 2 t-shirts, 1 long-sleeve shirt, 1 blouse, and 1 pair of capris all month. I can be so wrapped up in what other people think of me, that I quickly lose perspective and start to focus on the outside, when what is on the inside is what impacts everyone around me. NO ONE NOTICED!!
- I was challenged to share even more of our things. 2 sets of sheets for our bed? Give 1 to a family that is just starting out. 2 identical measuring cups? Give 1 to a family that is just starting out. A couple of extra towels? Give them to a family that is just starting out. Do we really need 8 plastic plates with matching cups? Nope. Give 4 of each to a family that is just starting out. And the list goes on. Sure, I might experience some inconvenience (like having to hand wash a plate before I was going to run the dishwasher, but really?? I'm going to complain about that??) but the joy of sharing and making a difference in someone else's life far outweigh any inconvenience.
- We are going to tackle gardening and canning this summer. Can't beat eating what you grow - keeps it organic, local, and cost-effective!! Hopefully the rabbits will share...
- I am intentionally resting from sunset Saturday to sunset Sunday. I've never really taken a Sabbath. It's not how I am programmed. I keep looking for more, the next thing to do, under the guise of "being helpful", or "staying ahead of the curve", or "not wanting to let things pile up because then Monday is a gong show". Well, guess what? We have survived 2 Sabbaths, and Mondays have been just fine. It takes a little more planning ahead (like knowing what we are going to eat and having the ingredients on hand, better yet, prepared) but the rest is worth it. Family time. You can't beat it!!
- I have started to implement the 7 sacred pauses each day and this has been REVOLUTIONARY for me! Okay, my goal is to pause 6 times a day because I am not going to get up at midnight. Sorry! But I have set my alarm for 6 times throughout they day, when I pause, read a little blurb about the pause, read some Scripture that goes along with it (all from the book of Psalms), and I pray. TALK ABOUT GAINING PERSPECTIVE, changing the focus. Starting my day with my focus on God and how I can serve those around me, how He can use me, how I can love those around me - it is healthy. I am intentionally looking for how God can use me throughout my day, inviting the Spirit to lead me, fostering peace in all my relationships, being grateful and thankful (which goes along with the gratitude journal I have been keeping). This is just what the doctor ordered. I feel like I have a new lease on life - and I don't want to waste a day! My eyes and heart are open.
- Life in the suburbs might not be the best fit for my family. Considering the environmental cost of commuting, the cost of keeping up 2 cars, the economic ramifications of continually shopping at big box stores, the isolation and perceived "safety" of the 'burbs...an exploration of city life might be in the works.
- The American dream isn't what God had in mind for the North American church. We are still acting like we are at a feast, but life is about balance, feast and fast. Where is the fast? Do we think ourselves so superior to the rest of creation that we are willing to deplete the earth to supply our luxuries? Where is the sacrifice for others? Where is the equality? What if all my little purchases do matter? What if we were more interested in justice? What standard is acceptable for my own life? My own family? This is the benchmark for everyone else, which means a decrease in the definition of necessary for us and an increase in the definition of acceptable for everyone else.
I am 38 (yes, I am 1 year older than the last time I posted something) and am tired of living with my head in the sand. I want to make a difference, which starts with one decision. This one decision starts to impact every other decision that gets made. It becomes the first thing you think about when making a decision. It changes you. What is that decision? The decision to live differently, to make a difference, to not take life and all the things we have in North America for granted, like we deserve them. It is a decision to become focused on others, my neighbours who physically live beside me (hi Darla and Ray!!) and my neighbours who I have never met in South Africa. And do you know what makes this decision even better? Doing it with friends. Who is up for shaking up the status-quo?
Never the same again,
Tam
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