A Simple ‘Yes’
My family and I are preparing to move into our caravan for a few weeks as we embark on some new adventures together. I always find this time of prepping is exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. While this isn’t the first time we have reduced our life down to a 20 foot home on wheels (we have spent many a month or two loving caravan life over the past few years), I always catch myself in the lead up to a trip thinking, ‘I won’t have this in the van next week.’ Today it was my juicer, which I felt kind of sad about, yesterday it was the kids x-box, which I actually felt pretty happy to be leaving behind for a while! I guess I just become more aware in the days before we go of the downsize that is about to take place.
If you fast forward a few weeks from now, however, I know that I won’t be missing or thinking about the juicer or the x-box at all. In fact, I can clearly remember sitting under the stars one night a few years ago, thousands of kilometres from home, and making the comment to my hubby, Aaron, that if anything were to happen to our house while we were away I felt like I would struggle to even fill out an insurance claim. I knew that it was full of stuff, but I couldn’t recall exactly what, or picture it, or remember why I had felt like I needed at some point. Living with very limited space made life so simple, and it was so good! I came back from that trip and decluttered every room in the house- it felt amazing!
As I have been pondering the stripped back, simple life that is just ahead of us, I can’t help thinking about how we can overcomplicate life so quickly. I’m not just talking about clutter in my house, but in every area of life. Our relationships, time commitments and work schedules, the way we view ourselves and our creator - all of these different areas can quickly become cluttered and complicated if we are not careful. Keeping up with the life we build for ourselves can end up being hard work. I am reminded of the words of Jesus to those He saw who were struggling to keep up:
‘Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.’ Matt 11:28-30 MSG
An invitation to a simple life. A life that is free and light. A life following the unforced rhythms of grace. The longer I walk this path, the more I am beginning to believe that following Jesus is meant to be simple. Our relationship with God was never meant to become complicated, yet we how often do we find ourselves tired and worn out?
You see, following Jesus isn’t about how neat and tidy my life is, or how squeaky clean I can keep my thoughts, actions and words. It isn’t about how many minutes or hours I have spent reading or studying the Bible this week, or how many church events I have attended- not that any of those things are bad in themselves, or things that God would not want us to invest our time in. The issue arises, however, when these things become the thing. When they become a list of things I must do, or a standard of things I must achieve each day to keep my standing as a follower of Jesus. The moment I feel that something I can do is what gets me across the line in my relationship with God, is the moment I lose all progress. Things suddenly become complicated. Depending on how much motivation and energy I can muster, I might last a few weeks or months on this treadmill, but sooner or later I will end up tired, worn out and burned out on religion.
And so we find ourselves responding to Jesus’ call to strip it all back and return to a simple walk. ‘Walk with me and work with me’ is the simple invitation. ‘I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you’ is the promise. All we need to respond with is a simple ‘yes’.
Not ‘yes’ to a list of rules. Not ‘yes’ to religious routines or behaviour expectations…But a simple, pure and surrendered ‘yes’ to Jesus. It is a ‘yes’ to relationship. A ‘yes’ to grace. A ‘yes’ to second chances offered again and again. A simple ‘yes’ to whatever it might be that Jesus is asking you to do today, right now.
This might be a ‘yes’ to stepping out of your comfort zones. ‘Yes’ to letting go of the past. ‘Yes’ to embracing new hopes and dreams. ‘Yes’ to leaving behind things that hinder your growth. ‘Yes’ to forgiveness. ‘Yes’ to showing grace to others. ‘Yes’ to building patience in your life. ‘Yes’ to the stretch.
But whatever it is that Jesus is calling you to say ‘yes’ to today, I can tell you that it won’t be complicated. You won’t find it presented to you as a checklist. You won’t find it as a set of criteria you have to meet in order to ‘level up’ in your relationship with Him. You won’t find it in something burdensome, or in a deal laced with manipulation. You will simply hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, calling you to take whatever your next step is, on the unique path that He is guiding you on.
Following Jesus is a posture of the heart. It is about humbly acknowledging Him each day with my ‘yes.’ It is surrendering my life again, every new morning, with a ‘yes’ to whatever He wants to work in and through me. Following Jesus is simply saying ‘yes’ to Him everyday. A simple ‘yes’.
-Jess
P.S. If you are interested, I have kept a photo diary of all our caravan and holiday adventures over the past few years here. ♡