On a quiet life
We had the idea before. It started as an out-of-reach dream—a “Wouldn’t that be nice?”—and then one day, it seemed to float into our reach before we could realize what was happening.
We heard of a study about the history of the Industrial Revolution and how it brought a great separation between work and the family. It sent the farming fathers far from the children and simultaneously made it harder for them to play a role in raising them. (Harder, but not impossible - as my own father stands as a strong reminder.)
It was a thought I tucked away in my head. Perhaps that is when the thoughts shifted to a “what if?”
Our life is full.
We homeschool two boys who previously called our home their own and this is no small task with all it requires.
We have two little ones to care for.
Zach was recently made an Elder in our local church.
We had three businesses between the two of us that we shouldered much responsibility for if not all.
But if you ask anyone in this life the simple question of “How are you?” you are more than likely to be met with the same response.
We are busy. Everyone is busy.
We think that being busy is perhaps the only way to be.
We grew tired. Too tired to not be willing to try to find another way forward.
We talked of the idea, but I voiced that I was only willing if it was in his time and when he had the peace to take this step. This was not one that I would dare force.
I was prepared to wait several months, perhaps years before any movement was made in this direction. So when we sat across from each other in a corner booth for a treasured date night and he said the simple words, laid it all out - made it clear, the step had been taken, I sat in shock.
There is a world of people who brag about being able to bring their husbands home because of the money they earn so they can live in luxury and cease from labor.
That is not the journey we are on, and that is not the financial state that we live in.
But we have come to this simple conclusion. We have enough.
We have enough to live by, and we have found it to be worth the trade-in. We don’t have Amazon making a regular appearance on our doorstep to bring us the latest conveniences. But the bills are all paid and the food is on the table and the family is together.
Many people do not see this as an option because the world has convinced them that they are in need of more than just the simple pleasures of life. Even now, I find myself daily reminding myself that what I have is more fulfilling than whatever product the ad I just swiped by is trying to offer to me.
We are happy here.
We are aware that we’ve been given a gift. We talked over dinner tonight about this gift - this opportunity we’ve been given. To have our boys watching their daddy work on projects around the home and the opportunity to work side by side with each other while the children nap.
To have shared pursuits and to be a part of the same world throughout the day.
We are grateful.
I still find myself in the day rushing needlessly around because it seems the right thing to do, and there certainly are still moments of this, but our lives have slowed in the very best way.
We are working together. We are building something as a family - a way of life, a culture of ministry, a way forward together.
And to those to whom this way of life has not been made available, I would say this - Be even more intentional than, to find a quiet life. To find togetherness in every way possible.
To do puzzles after dinner. To enjoy read-alouds in the living room before bed. To find a ministry you can all share in together.
To say no to the things that will take from this.
There is a reason that the Bible instructs us to lead a quiet life.
Because quiet provides room for families to flourish.
Because quiet provides room for dinner guests and coffee chats.
Because quiet provides room for character to be built and minds to come alive with wonder.
Because quiet provides space for family worship and neighborhood prayer gatherings.
A family pulled apart will not accomplish nearly as much as a family that learns to rely on one another and pours its efforts into the same shared vision.
We are choosing to live in a way that reflects this belief.
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“Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”
1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
