Recently, I received an email that sort of made me stop in my tracks. It was from a missionary in Kenya, who is homeschooling her children and was encouraged by my book, Real Homeschool: Letting Go of the Pinterest Perfect and Instagram-Ideal Homeschool.
It always amazes me that people, let alone people on other continents, are encouraged by my words in some way. To God be the glory!
Yet, this one was different. There was one line in this message that so deeply moved me. It is what I am all about at Simply Living for Him, and it encouraged me that what I am doing here…my mission here…must continue.
She wrote:
When I came across you on FB I was so encouraged because I just don’t see that focus on Jesus much anymore and it can be discouraging sitting over here on the other side of the world trying to share Jesus with others and I see other moms wasting their lives and kids lives on so much junk!
Right there. That is why I do what I do. I know how I feel when I see the things that distract us daily as moms and as humans. But I never imagined what it must look like to someone living over in Africa…sharing God’s love as a missionary…and homeschooling…and to see how we are over here focused on so much nonsense. The perfect meal plan, Pinterest board, crafts, decor, gadgets, latest and greatest earthly pleasure, or whatever it is…
Imagine how we look, chasing after the things of this world, but claim the name of Jesus?
This post isn’t about conviction, but about refocus. I am as guilty as the next of getting distracted and chasing after the wrong things. That’s why I will continue to press on here with my message.
Let us not lost our focus.
Let us keep the main thing, the main thing.
This life is short. The time is precious. And our moments should matter for Jesus.
Yet, we are stuck in the middle of this noisy and distracting world, showing us its shiny pleasures. It woos us with its temporal goodness. And in and of itself, many of those things are good. It is okay to enjoy pleasures here. We are meant to enjoy our blessings, but there is a distinction between enjoyment and placing our happiness in them.
We must not seek them before Him. We can not live for the here and now, the picture-perfect life, and those things that are just superficial, and not live for eternity.
We are drowning in a sea of information, but losing our wisdom. We are attaining earthly success, but forgetting about eternal gain. We seek our own glory, before His. We are forgetting our purpose in life: to know Him and make Him known.
Living simply is not about a cute minimalist lifestyle arranged just so for a photo. It isn’t about setting up a perfect peaceful picture. It isn’t about the right organization systems, meal plans, planners, decor, or any of that. It is not simply a lifestyle.
It is a life that is seeking more Jesus.
The more we desire Him, the less we will desire of this world. When we thirst for Him, those earthly pleasures don’t seem so satisfying anymore.
A simple life, for me, weeds out the things that are hindering me from my one and only satisfaction in life. Jesus. Nothing more, nothing less. I want to seek after Him so much that I don’t care what the world has to say about the next best thing.
As that sweet missionary mama from Kenya stated: she sees us from across the ocean chasing after the wrong things! Oh, my heart. May I continue to chase after the right things! May I stop feasting on the junk of this world and filling up on earthly pursuits while starving for Jesus. May I seek Him first so that everything else falls into its proper place. May my life reflect Jesus and not the world.
Let’s not waste our precious time as mothers and as women on rubbish. Let’s teach our kids and the next generation what is truly important.
Who is with me?
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