SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS

Lesson 4 – Avoid Mistaking Simplicity for Lack of Significance.

[From Series on Lessons I Learned from Mom on How to Meet Transitions with Grace]

Mom wanted to get out of her single room in hospice. We found a perfect spot on the patio with bright flowers and budding bushes. She sat for some time as she breathed in the fresh air and took in the beauty of spring-into-summer day.

I looked over in time to see her raise her face to the sun. Her body relaxed in its warmth and she smiled … being outside in nature soothed her and uplifted her spirits. Basics usually work.

 Do you ever reach for complicated solutions when something simple could be significant?

 The challenge about making things more complicated than they need to be is, you can resist simple activities and practices that revive, recharge, and renew your mind, body, and soul.

For instance, a wife asks a husband to spend more time with the family. In response, the husband plans a whole day’s outing that requires driving a distance, planning a schedule, and spending money.

While this could be a good thing, a simpler and perhaps more significant choice might be sharing simple food, spending time playing a board game, and talking. The significance is in the sharing and connection without distraction.

In another scenario you probably can relate to – Your eyes are staring into space, your fingers are haven’t touched a key in minutes, but you resist taking a break from a project because it takes too much time.

Fact is, just two to five minutes spent in shifting your focus such as reading an article of interest, a short, inspirational story, or watching a funny clip, are simple and significant ways of mentally and physically renewing your energy.

You can take this same principle and apply it to connecting with God during the day.

 Some might think that connecting with God always means having to spend hours in one huge prayer and practice. As a result, you could resist going to God until you have the time.

 What you could do is pray as you go along – continuously.

While you drive, instead of zoning out or listening to the radio, you might try counting your blessings and noticing what you pass of beauty, and give thanks.

Driving is also a great time to praise singing your favorite hymns. (Good news, if you’re like me and sing off-key, only God will hear you, and he welcomes your song! )

Think of all the time you can accrue to devote to God —shopping, cleaning, gardening, hiking, and exercising!

Make connecting with God simple by preparing for those times when you’ve created busy.

A friend collects prayers and puts them on her phone when she can’t find the words.

Another friend created a Word document on her computer and a collection on her Kindle of favorite Psalms and Bible verses and goes there for an easy reference anytime during the day.

Approaching any task, devoted to God with love for God, is a way of praying as you go in your day. This is a simple, yet significant practice Brother Lawrence shares in the book, The Practice of the Presence of God (Whitaker House, 1982)

Simple activities, gestures, and connections can be very significant, especially during transitions. Consider turning to them to recharge your mind, body, and soul.

NanaSays.Com | 2022

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