Beauty in Simplicity

 

Noah arranges the village every year

Chloe supervises the ornament hanging

As we quickly swing into the "holiday season" and all the assumed busyness that usually brings for most of us, let's stop a moment and think about simplicity.

"It's the simple things in life" often seems so trite.  But is it?  What if in this Christmas season, this year, 2023, we just stopped, took a deep, cleansing breath and evaluated what is truly important to us, to our family?  What if we said no to the dozens of opportunities to "GO, DO and PERFORM" this year?  What if we cut down on that Christmas buying and planned a special family outing for January or even February instead to gift our children with?  What if instead of boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations unloaded, arrranged and then reboxed in January, we just decorated a few key things in our home that we just really like and bring us a smile?

My first 11 years of marriage were spent in a foreign country where the tiny bit of decorating I did for Christmas was more than the average Brazilian woman ever did.  Brazilians seem to be decorating more for Christmas in recent years than they used to but when I moved to Brazil, Christmas was not a super big deal.  New Years is their thing!  

For many years our children helped me set out a hand full of special Christmas items and decorated the tiniest little fake tree you have ever seen with equally tiny little tree ornaments.  It was so tiny we placed it up on a stool covered with a small tablecloth.  That was the extent of decor in our tiny 530 square foot apartment.  And it was always a special event.  My children knew nothing different.

Then we moved to the United States where decorating takes on a whole new meaning as we observed Christmas celebrations on a whole new level.  On top of that we were gifted boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations.  Many more decorations than I have surfaces for.  FIVE moves later in 4.5 YEARS and our decorations now fit in four tubs.  That still feels extravagant to me but I can live with four boxes (+ our tree).  I will add here that I have been highly influenced in the last year by an author named Myquillan Smith.  If you are interested in learning to make your home a place marked by hospitality and beautiful simplicity, please read her books.  They are usually found at the local library.  I was so inspired by her insight and advice.  She inspired me with the idea of choosing only a few key surfaces/areas of your living area to decorate.  

This week as the children and I carefully decorated the few surfaces we have in our home (we still don't have a lot of furniture due to our most recent move half way across the USA), I was shocked to find myself just a little bit discontent with the "simplicity" of our decorations.  It took me off guard because I love simple.  I wholeheartedly believe less is indeed more.  Better.  Maybe it's because our house is a bit bare of a few key pieces of furniture.  Maybe because it's our fifth home in five years.  Maybe because we live thousands away from family.  Maybe...oh, I don't know.  Some sinful self-pity and comparison creeping in?

As we prayed together as a family after devotions that evening, I couldn't keep the tears back.  I peeked at the beautiful artificial tree (I never wanted an artificial tree.  I am a hard-core fresh tree lover but that is a beautiful story of provision I will share later) and was overwhelmed with gratitude at how incredibly good my heavenly Father is.  It doesn't matter how much or little I have in my home, or have to decorate, or people to be with this holiday season.  What matters is the Jesus we celebrate and how my heart is in tune with His during this time of celebration.  What matters is how at peace my heart is even though the world is so not at peace.  What matters is the attitudes I am passing on to my children during this important month.  Am I frazzled and running like a crazy woman to "make our Christmas happy"? or am I teaching them the importance of what we are actually commemorating?  Concerts, Christmas tree lane, Christmas music, church events and decorations are all wonderful and good things.  Let's just not lose our focus in all this.  Maybe this year we need to bask in the simple things.  Allow simplicity to be the beauty in our home and hearts as we celebrate our Lord's birth!

                                                                                     Immanuel: God with Us!

                                                                                                            Jama

PS Our Tree Story: last year we were facing possible unemployment right at Christmas time.  It was so very hard on our children.  We tried to protect them from details of our situation but they are very perceptive.  At one point they asked when we were going to go choose our Christmas tree and I had to explain I didn't think we would have one this year.  They broke out in wailing stating "how can we have Christmas without a Christmas tree?"  You can imagine the conversation that took place after that and they accepted that Christmas would indeed still be Christmas without a tree.

A few days later a precious friend texted and asked if we could use a 9 foot artificial tree that was going to Goodwill if we didn't want it.  I measured our ceilings and with a heavy heart texted back that a 9 ft tree wouldn't fit in our house.  She responded with "what about a 7 foot tree?"  Within hours they showed up with the tree, set it up for me and guess what?  It is a beautiful artificial tree.  I love it!  I am now wondering why we would want to have a tree that gets dry and brittle in early January!!!  My children and I saw first hand AGAIN how our loving, generous, good, incredibly kind heavenly Father just loves to give us even little desires of our hearts.  

If things are tight this year and you wonder how you will get through this season, just know this.  He sees you.  He hears your cries for help.  For breakthrough.  Maybe for a bonus to come through and enable you to have a little extra for the children.  We have been the recipients of so many "unexpected gifts" over the last five years.  It would take a book to share them all.  He will prove Himself faithful.  He will be enough!