LIVING LIGHTLY

It’s no secret: day-to-day living can be very difficult.  There are often so many demands on us — whether from work, caring for children, worrying about elderly parents, keeping up with chores, concerns about health issues, financial troubles, and political unrest.  Sometimes life can really weigh heavily on our hearts.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed, anxious, and despairing.  I often wonder “How do I follow Christ’s teachings when I sometimes feel the world is out of control?”  I discovered there are two ways to do this: an immediate response and one that keeps the “big picture” in mind:

1 Corinthians 7:32: “Brothers and sisters: I should like you to be free of anxieties.”

God doesn’t want us to be irresponsible and ignore the challenges of living.  But He also doesn’t want us mired in despair either.  I think there is a happy medium.  An attitude of quiet confidence that God is walking alongside us as we handle our earthly challenges.  When faced with a problem, I try to identify what aspects of the problem I can actually control or do anything about.  What parts of this puzzle are truly out of my control?  I decide what I can do and I offer up the rest to God for His management.  

This next part is the hardest: I try not to brood about the problem. Daily prayer gives me the chance to remind myself that I have decided to “let go, and let God” take care of the things I can’t control. This helps me breathe more freely.  More often than not, over time, issues resolve and I move on.

By trusting in Him, having faith in His promises and by continuing to deepen my love for Him each day — I find that I can actually “live lightly.”

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare, not evil, to give you a hope and a future.

If I can, I try to remember that God has a plan in place for me.  He loves me as a daughter and only wants what is good for me.  If asked what I would want from God, the best gift I can think of is being with Him for eternity.  I have to believe that despite my faults, my weaknesses, my sins, He would guide me on the right paths, strengthen me through trials, create in me the right heart, mind and soul so I can someday be worthy of that gift.

This “big picture” blurs the day-to-day of our short stay on earth and keeps us focused on the wide expanse of eternity. This, more than anything else, helps me live lightly. Don’t get me wrong — I value and cherish my life, my family, and my friends.  But the vision of a life eternal with them and in God’s presence seems even more beautiful, more rewarding and infinitely more desirable!

Let’s start a movement — let’s all try to live in this world well by remembering our goal.  Let’s “live lightly” and face our responsibilities with the knowledge that we don’t have to do it alone.