The Busy Life

My dear friend Grace just wrote one of the most powerful blog posts I have read about her "simple" life and prayer.  (Grace's Blog) I read it with a sense of wonder and contemplated my visit out to Texas and now my life here in the Big City of Denver.

Bob and I are not the "simple life" kind of people.  We will probably always live in a city environment, Bob will probably always work for a big town company and we will most likely find ourselves immersed in a community of thousands.  We have our big TV, IPADS, Kindles, and cellphones and although considered normal are probably far too "plugged in."  We watch the news, occasionally, but we watch it. We read the news on Google, Yahoo, or any "news pop up" we have programmed on our devices.  We know when the Grammy's are, the Oscars, the Tonys and all other mindless awards shows.  In fact, we enjoy the Oscars so much we made it our mission to watch most all of the nominated pictures so that we could formulate our own opinions on who should win.  When we aren't watching movies we have our regular TV lineup to stay up to date on.  What can I say, we live the "normal" life.

I have a Kohls, Target, Walmart, Chic-fil-A, King Soopers, Safeway, Starbucks etc within walking distance from my little apartment, I have a mall 10 minutes away.   Its easy to find parks and things to do when just staying home won't cut it.  We get flyers, coupons and discounts in the mail, we have to work hard not to spend money like we have it.  Our airport is only a short drive away.  Its our life.  As a stay at home mom I wouldn't have called our life busy, until I had the chance to visit a simpler place.  I think that is what moved me so about Grace's post.

In my busy city life I have noticed how easy it is to get so bombarded with "busy" that we forget the simple things, like prayer.  Prayer in the small things, the everyday things, the things that seem silly, but ultimately matter.  Instead of seeking the Lord for help on some issue we consult our phones, our friends, our computers.   Frankly Google gets more Facetime than the Lord in this life of ours.  Being out in the quiet "unplugged" space of a hay farm in Saint Jo, Texas brought me back to the heart of prayer, back to the heart of what our relationship with Jesus is supposed to look like.  Grace prayed for everything.

No, they weren't long prayers, they were conversational, "Lord, please help us find that cow,"  "Lord, keep Sebron safe on the tractor," "Lord, please move this cow, she is stuck and I don't know what to do," "Lord help us preggos run another day," "Lord, thank you for another beautiful morning."  Here I was taking in the situation like it was just mine to observe and sweet Grace was praying, conversing with the Lord, having a relationship.  I was humbled.

It's a shame that it takes a trip to a "simpler" life to remind us of our need for relationship.  I know that I need Jesus, but really how often in the day to I reach for Him?  Sadly not many.  In this world of busyness we have a constant who is always there far after the battery life dies and the news ends.  He is literally a friend that is by our side all day long and yet most of us, myself included, give Him the silent treatment.  Not being a very good friend if you ask me.

While I may never live the "simple" life, I want my heart to always be in a simple place.  Prayer isn't just for the big, hard things in this life, its for LIFE.

Keep it simple and pray without ceasing.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ~ Philippians 4:6