
Yesterday was overcast, with a sprinkling of showers here and there. My thirsty garden appreciated it greatly, and so did I. By the end of the day the rain had passed on, and my younger children greatly enjoyed helping me harvest onions. I enjoyed their laughter while snipping off heads of calendula before heading back indoors.
Sometimes I feel like I’m in a strange place. I’m inexplicably drawn to simple, home based things. I want to be a homeschooling, homesteading wife and mama. I want to be a good manager of my home, handling both our schedule and finances well. I love being creative in my Etsy shop. I’m at my happiest while surrounded by my family in the garden.
And yet, when I go out into the outside world, my convictions about some things begins to waver. You would think that as a forty-year-old woman, I would be quite settled in my own life. While there are some things that I am settled about, there is something to be said about the impact society at large has on an individual.
I feel like I look so different than everyone else. My life looks largely different. Does this mean I am doing it wrong or right?
Society tells us that complexity brings excitement to our lives, and that simple things are for the “simple minded.” I believe this couldn’t be farther from the truth!
While of course there are vast differences between individuals, usually we can count on society at large to not have much right in our day and age. It is currently June, and sin is being celebrated openly by businesses everywhere. When I see these things occuring, it becomes easier to feel confident in my own skin, ready to walk on the path the Lord has set before me.
Related: The Beauty of Living Slowly
Walking in God’s ways and pursuing a home-based life is a good thing. There is safety to be found here. While being keepers at home, we are less likely to be influenced by the culture, and in turn, question our calling.
We are very much like sheep, following the crowd at it’s every turn. I know I feel the tug when I go out into the world. The adversary would like nothing more than to pull us from our posts and convince us that he has more to offer than the Lord does. We must remember that this can never be true. We must continue to put one foot in front of the other while walking on the narrow path.
Related: I Want a Simple Life!
For me, this looks like a life of simplicity compared to where I was ten years ago. We often over complicate things, forgoing the simple pleasures that God intended for us to enjoy. This was me to the core, and oh, how much I missed!
The Narrow Path is narrow, and we must remember that not everyone will be walking on it. That is what the wide road is for. I need to throw my comparisons out the window, and instead, do whatever the Lord has asked of me.
…and aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, just as we directed you.
1 Thessalonians 4:11 TLV
I hope your day is lovely, ladies. Before you go, I promised my son I would mention that he has started a YouTube channel. So far he has only shared his banjo playing, but will add other instruments to it soon.
Thanks for stopping by with me today!
Visit my children’s boutique here.
Very true. Being different (in the godly way)seems like very different from the world, but in God’s eyes is rewarding, and great encouragement to keep walking the narrow path! Easier to do when you know there are others like you out there, even tho few but they are there !
I would love to know what you will be doing with the calendula flowers !
Absolutely! I hope to make a salve with them. I did this last year and it turned out really well!