While goals and resolutions are important and do have value, we must learn to prioritize and simplify things that transcend this earth.
What comes to mind when you think about what matters most to you? Is it the bond you have with family and friends, your best friend, or a significant other? What about the hugs and kisses from your favorite pet? Or the stability and income of your job?
As followers of Jesus, we're called to love and pursue Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Matthew 22:37-40 says it this way: "Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (NIV).
While family, friends, a spouse, a favorite pet, and a job are valuable, they are not the most important thing. As Jesus reminded Martha, "'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her'" (Luke 10:41-42, NIV).
If we want to simplify our lives, we must put Him first. As disciples, we're called to have a personal relationship with Jesus, share the gospel, and take as many people to heaven with us as we can.
Here are three easy steps to keep this perspective:
1. Breathe
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "simplify" as a transitive verb. "Simplify" literally translates: "to make simple or simpler such as reducing to basic essentials, diminishing in scope or complexity, or making more intelligible." At the start of a new year, it makes sense that humans are striving to set goals, achieve weight loss objectives, and pursue their wildest dreams and imaginations. But if we want to make the biggest difference, I believe this starts with taking a deep breath.
God first created man by using His breath. Genesis 2:7 says, "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being" (NIV). This breath is the word pnoēn, meaning wind or the breath of life. Every day, we take 20-25,000 breaths. So why do we need to take time to breathe to simplify our lives?
Most of us could use a little downtime in our schedules. Instead of jumping from task to task, making room to pause and breathe can re-center our alignment and focus. Like a car needing its tires rotated or oil changed, breathing enables us to inhale God's promises and exhale our worries and fears.
One practical way to implement this into your daily life is to practice breathing when you feel overwhelmed or stressed. Setting a timer for 3-5 minutes and permitting myself to sit in a quiet and safe environment where I can truly breathe does wonders.
Typically, I pair this breathing with a 4-4-8 pattern and Scripture. I will inhale deeply through my nose for four seconds while mentally reading or reciting the first part of a scripture ("When anxiety was great within me,"). Then, I will hold my breath for 4 seconds, meditating on the words. Finally, I will exhale for 8 slow seconds through my mouth, mentally reading or reciting the second part of the Scripture ("Your consolation brought me joy" [Psalm 94:19, NIV]).
Slowing our breathing helps regulate our nervous system, make us more attuned and focused, and helps us prioritize. However, in my experience, it is only most effective when paired with slowing down and making space for rest.
2. Slow Down
I might sound like a broken record by now, but my grandma always told me I needed to slow down or I would burn out. Six years into burnout, I'm starting to realize she was right, and I'm just now learning how to rest. While slowing down can look different for everyone, I think Jesus explains it best in Matthew, Mark, and Luke:
Luke 5:16: "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed" (NIV).
Luke 6:12-13: "One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles" (NIV).
Mark 6:46: "After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray" (NIV).
Matthew 14:13: "When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns" (NIV).
Are you sensing a pattern? Jesus Christ performed more miracles than our hands can count, our eyes could ever see, and our minds could fathom. He was incredibly busy, yet He was committed to the Father's will and continually made time to pray and slow down.
Taking time to slow down isn't easy. It's a commitment and essentially a risk. We think we can't afford to slow down, rest, and simplify. But I believe we can't afford to not. Slowing down not only regulates our nervous system, but it helps us see more clearly. We're given new vision not because we're necessarily seeing new things, but viewing the world more clearly.
If slowing down overwhelms or scares you as it does me, know that it's not all or nothing. Yes, it's scary, but no, it doesn't have to be impossible. One simple way to implement slowing down could look like setting aside 10 minutes of solitude in the morning or evening. This gives you the flexibility to choose a time like Jesus did, at the beginning or end of your day, where you can rest, realign, and slow down.
For others, slowing down might come in 3-5 minute spurts throughout the day. Perhaps a quick breather when the baby is napping, the dog isn't barking, or Amazon isn't at your door. Integrating these breathers throughout the day can be just as effective as longer breaks if done consistently.
As we learn to breathe and slow down, it will be to pay attention to the things that really matter most.
3. Pay Attention
The third and final way to simplify our lives seems basic and non-essential. You might be thinking, "What does paying attention have to do with simplifying or restructuring my life?" But paying attention, or in other words, focusing our attention on what matters and away from what doesn't, is crucial.
Proverbs 4:20-22 explains the essence of worthy attention in this way: "My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body" (NIV). The same goes for our attention in the here and now, the in-between, as we live on earth, waiting for heaven.
Paying attention is a way to simplify our lives because when we focus on what truly matters, everything else falls into place. This isn't to say that we won't face difficult times or have hard decisions to make, but it means that when we need help focusing on the essentials, we will already know what those things are.
Proverbs 22:17-18 tells us that if we hear wisdom through the Word of God and apply it to our lives, we will live pleasing lives: "Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips" (NIV).
Likewise, paying attention means not just hearing and reading what to focus on in life, but putting those things into action. One simple way I'm practicing paying attention in this new season is by evaluating my priorities. My husband and I are less concerned with pleasing people and more about protecting our time and sanity. We are weeding out the non-essential things (even if they are good), ensuring ample time for the things that matter most (things that aren't just good, but best).
Taking It One Day at a Time
Like many New Year's resolutions and goals, the dreams are often short-lived, and the accomplishments are stifled. Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's just the reality for many.
The good news is that I'm not asking you to accomplish huge goals, like upkeeping unrealistic workouts and dietary habits. I'm asking you to choose one of these practices and try it for 3-5 minutes a day; that's it.
While goals and resolutions are important and do have value, we must learn to prioritize and simplify things that transcend this earth. Investing in your relationship with your Creator through breathing, slowing down, and paying attention are three simple practices that can help us simplify and realign our lives to His design.
Agape, Amber
Photo Credit: ©Getty/Catherine McQueen
