What does simplifying really mean?

"You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary
has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke
10:41-42 (NIV)

A common passage about Mary & Martha, but it's been a while since I've sat down to really understand what Jesus was saying to Martha. In the midst of reading this amazing book, Breathe, by Keri Wyatt Kent, I was brought to this Mary & Martha verse randomly through something else. It made me connect the two to understand a little better about not only simplifying our lives, but simplifying it for a purpose...a relational and spiritual purpose.

These days everyone is so busy; in fact, whenever someone asks how I'm doing, my answer is usually "fine, just busy"...why is that? Am I so fine that I don't have time to connect with the person asking how I'm doing? So why do I feel the need to simplify my life? It seems like a silly question in which you would answer "well, duh!" But, the truth is that I need to refocus my life, my goals, my relationships. And if I am not walking hand in hand with my heavenly Father, then why would He bless all of the other things or goals in my life. It's not that I don't spend time with God, but I often think just because I am doing something for Jesus, that I am doing it with Jesus...begs the question - are we so busy doing things for Him that we cannot find the time to spend with Him? That was Martha's problem - she was so busy cooking, cleaning, etc. for her guest that she neglected the guest himself. Our lives should not be about our "guests" but about the relationships we're building with them. And if I am so busy with so many things, then I am not building relationships the way God intended me to; especially the relationship with Him.

This brings me to the book, Breathe, that I'm currently reading. Kent explains the reason for writing the book in this way

"...because I want to learn more about how to live at a saner pace. Why?
Because the pace of our lives has profound implications upon the depth of our
lives. I don't want to just skim the surface of life; I want to have deep and
meaningful relationships with my family, my friends, God. And this I do
know: you can't hurry love."

I love the way she relates the depth of her life to her relationships. If our pace of life is so fast and hurried, then everything in our lives is also hurried. Is that how I want people to view me, as a hurried friend? I need to slow down to focus on what's important in life, starting with spending time with the Father, having a true meaningful relationship with Him.

That relationship with the Father, too, will reflect our pace of life. I know I'm quoting a bit too much of this book (and I've only read 2 chapters....yikes!), but I love the way she writes!!

"Any spiritual practice, from solitude to service, must be approached in an
unhurried fashion, or the benefits of the practice itself will be lost.
Connection with God, which is the reason for any spiritual practice, begins with
changing our focus (from ourselves and our problems to God and his sufficiency)
and changing our pace (from hurried and distracted to deliberate and focused).
That is what simplicity, slowing and Sabbath-keeping force us to do."

So, in essence, we need to focus on God and his sufficienty with deliberation and focus - I am not doing that in my busy, hurried day by any means!! This really makes me adjust my view of "being a Mary in a Martha world"...slowing down to focus and spend quality time with those important to us! Heck, I should know what quality time is; that is my love language!! Joe would never try to give me his 10 minutes of free time and think it is expressing true love to me...why should I expect God to settle for that either?