It’s a start!  Thank you to those who commented on our “welcome home” day, in celebration of the addition of a new category – “Home” – here at Seriously Girl. We’re on the road to some interesting and helpful conversation regarding the beauty of a simpler life, and your participation is beyond welcome – it’s essential!

Several of you wisely noted that simplicity is the pathway to contentment.  As we unload the things of life that weigh us down, we find that we are more content with not only what we have, but who we are. Once I realize that I don’t have to have an in-ground pool to be happy, I can be content with the things I do have – like central air and an ice maker and shades on my windows to deflect the summer heat.  More isn’t always better, sometimes it’s just more.  And too much keeps us from being able to see what is most important.  More sneaks in and before you know it has robbed from relationships to feed its insatiable hunger. More requires maintenance, bigger spaces to store it all, time to use it, and drags us away from the things that truly deserve our attention.

You also shared your first-hand experience that a cluttered house leads to a cluttered life, and when you get control of clutter, your home becomes a sanctuary of peace instead of just a chaotic place to live.  There is a definite correlation between chaos around us and chaos in our souls.  My daughter has four boys in a small house and can easily be overrun by the stuff of life.  She has been committed to paring down, and now the whole family spends 10 minutes at the end of the day tidying. They are experiencing the benefits already. Getting up in the morning to chaos creates an atmosphere of chaos right out of the chute, while getting up to a tidy house emanates a more peaceful environment. 

The other benefit to reining in chaos, as one of you shared, is the renewed ability to hear the whisper of the Holy Spirit more clearly.  Being surrounded by stuff and the ensuing chaos makes it difficult to hear the voice of God in our lives.  We’re too busy pursuing the wrong priorities, planning that next remodel of a perfectly fine room, upgrading our recreational toys or our technology to the latest and greatest.  Jesus said it himself, “you can’t serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)  There is nothing more important than abiding in Christ and loving God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.  No accumulation of worldly possessions can replace the joy of a heart-to-heart connection with Jesus. Too much stuff just stands in the way of that relationship.

It’s a process.  We can’t do it all overnight, but we can tackle one thing at a time in the quest to overcome the obsession with the more that stands in the way of the better. Let’s keep this conversation going! Have you had a success? Let us know! Are you stuck and not sure how to proceed? Reach out for help! We’re not out of the Covid woods yet, which makes this the perfect time to rein in the chaos and take control.  Sure it’s easier to procrastinate and ignore the changes that would improve our day-to-day life and relationships, but pushing forward is so much more rewarding.  More on this soon!

Keep those thoughts/ideas/questions coming.  You can include them in the comment section below or send them to gigi@seriouslygirl.com

Love,
Gigi

My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest. — Isaiah 32:18 (NIV)