God’s Good Time

Unpossessed by possessions, we are free to welcome our own poverty of spirit, for only those who know they are incomplete can be made whole. Thus, people who live with less (whether by choice or circumstance) are more likely, in lean times, to lean on Providence and rely on one another. Reverencing our limits lets us share an abundance of simple pleasures and taste the joys of a less-complicated life.

Fast-paced, consumer culture purports to cram our days with stuff and activities, promising to fill the sinkhole at the heart of us with purpose and happiness. Paradoxically, true “holey-ness” widens the ache within, reducing needs, minimizing wants, and clearing the clutter to make room for others. Though a simpler life is intentionally uncomplicated, simple is never easy. It exposes the emptiness of overfilled lifestyles as it celebrates the satisfaction of spacious fulfillment.

Simpler also presumes slower. When life reaches that harried and hurried frenetic pitch, it is time for sabbath-slowing, to the pace of God’s good time.

—from the book Wandering and Welcome: Meditations for Finding Peace
by Joseph Grant