To simplify things...

You know the question... "You're on a desert island and you can choose one or two things...what would they be?" Well, how about, you're moving your life to the other side of the world and you can take one suitcase ...what would you pack?...I guess the reality that there's not likely to be very much room left after we've packed clothing should simplify the process - I'm just not sure I appreciate that angle right at the moment.

I’ve been challenged by the call to simplicity for a long time, so a wee corner of my heart is cultivating some joy and anticipation at what it could mean to begin life over without so much stuff!   In truth though there’s still a lot of dying to many sentimental attachments and dependence on physical resources and props – we have such a glut of them don’t we?  I’ll see over the next few months just how real my profession of the “sufficiency of Christ” is... hopefully it will become more so.

Firsthand experience

It's a funny kind of life this one...well, not so mainstream at the very least.  There are times when I catch myself and wonder at what point I understood the ramifications of what I/we signed up for...this opting out of the regular career path and the more commonly pursued gradual progression through life onward and upward!  It's not like I'm a radical creature by nature, in fact I'm very conventional, many would describe me as quite conservative and those that know me well know I'm very attached to order and routine and things like security and predictability.  So this is not the life I would have picked out for myself ...

It struck me in church yesterday though what an awesome thing it is to risk my life with God.  As we sang songs about elements of the character and promises of God I realised that in different circumstances I might just be singing the theory, but because of how He's called us we've had the amazing (and sometimes very stretching!) privilege of experiencing God firsthand.  We know He provides because he's provided so many times, we know He protects because He's kept us through some threatening situations, we know that His grace is enough because it has been.

And right now we're learning all these things again, because we're kinda slow!  This journey back to the other side of the world is stretching us again...but again we're getting to see God do what He does, and show Himself awesome!!!