Bitten

My daughter, her husband, and my two youngest granddaughters came to vist last weekend. We had a wonderful time keeping the little girls while their parents celebrated their dad's birthday.

I didn't know then that they had come bearing a host of nasty germs. My daughter woke up Sunday morning with a stomach virus. My three year old granddaughter went to the doctor Monday with a bad cough and tested positive for flu.

I feared I was bound to get one or the other and, sure enough, I was bitten with the flu bug. I'm obeying my doctor's orders to lay low and push fluids for three days.

As I sit here in my easy chair, I think back to two years ago when I was sidelined with a pinched nerve in my back. That time of seclusion turned out to be a blessing because I got closer to Jesus than I had ever been, after spending weeks just reading my Bible and praying to Him.

At that time, I decided I didn't ever want to go back to fast paced living. I decided that I wanted to live slower, to find the joy that comes in simple moments. I decided I wanted to declutter  my life and live with less. I was dismayed by the greed I saw, in my own closet.

I'm still working, with Jesus' help, in these areas. I still have a long way to go, but I'm determined to scale down my life so I can enjoy it more. I've been bitten by the desire to simplify my life, for real this time. I want to live how ever many days I have left in a way that glorifies God and not to buy into the excess of the world I live in. 

"Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me", Psalm 51:10.

"Put on your new nature and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him", Ephesians 4:24.