Simplicity | Developing a Deeper Appreciation for Creation

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One of the steps towards simplicity discussed in the chapter "The Discipline of Simplicity" from the book Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster is develop a deeper appreciation for the creation.

Okay, so let's just lay it out here. 

I do not have a green thumb.

I do not like to get hot and sweaty.

I can't stand the feel of dirt on me.

I (and my hair) do not fair well in the Florida humidity.

So now that that is out in the open, I am also willing to admit that I want to change a few things. As the winter cold came to an end (which for Floridians is anything colder than 70 degrees), we began going outside more, I began hanging my laundry again, and my kids discovered the beauty of uninhibited running outside (because you just can't do that inside a house).

Every year in the spring, I remember this feeling. The one that reminds you that the earth is a beautiful place. The one that causes you to take deep breaths of air and fill up your lungs with fresh oxygen... not the recycled stuff from inside.

The feeling that I need to appreciate God's creation more than I do.

Why am I so afraid of my children getting dirty?

Why do I not want to get in the dirt myself?

There are so many wonders to be discovered in God's creation.

In childhood, what is the ultimate simplicity?

Going outside and playing with whatever you can find.

When kept inside, my children find themselves in need of something to do for entertainment. That is when the crayons, coloring books, toys, and even my furniture and pots and pans come out. This in turn gives us the added chore of having to clean everything up.

When my children are outdoors, God has provided everything they need for entertainment.

• plants (weeds count) to look at, pick, and to learn the art of gardening with 

• large open areas for running without worry that anyone will run into a sharp corner

• insects and bugs to catch (and because bugs do not stay still, the entertainment lasts quite a while)

Addie is definitely an outdoor girl.

Ian is totally an outside boy.

Mommy is a let's-find-something-safe-to-do-inside kind of girl.

Yet I am learning that there is definitely something freeing, calming, and peaceful about just being outside.

• When I hang my laundry, it is then that God puts dreams and aspirations in my heart.

• When I am outside, I find myself praying and praising more.

• When I am outside, I smile more.

• When my children are outside, there is a refreshment that comes over them that they cannot get from being inside.

• When my children have a good play outside, they rest much more easily at night. 

I am trying to develop a deeper appreciation for God's creation. 

Because developing a deeper appreciation for God's creation is a step towards simplicity.