Can I live a simple life?

I love the idea of simple living.  In spite of my busy and complicated life, there are simple habits I try and build into my  family's day.   Mostly they center around our home as a gathering place for meals and times with friends. Yet I sense there's greater simplicity I could incorporate into my life. 

That's why I'm drawn to some of the Amish practices.  I'm not alone.  At the most recent She Speaks, an agent and a publishing representative both said that "bonnet fiction" is the best-selling fiction in the Christian market.  Maybe in our information-overloaded society, many of us are longing for the simplicity of family, home and community.

Which is why, when Revell sent me a preview copy of "Amish Peace" by Suzanne Woods Fisher, I was happy to read it.  In each chapter, the author selects a nugget of Amish wisdom to explore.  Then there are questions at the end, and a fact of Amish life.

The chapter on scooters intrigued me.  I didn't know Amish use scooters.  They can't ride bicycles because that could potentially take them too far away from home.  But scooters are okay. How did this happen?

The Amish use something called "selective modernization."  When something new enters the Amish community, the elders give it a period of probation, weighing out its long-term effects on the community.  "Church leaders consider where a change could lead the younger generation.  They try to see beyond the immediate benefits of change to the effects it could have down the road," Fisher writes. 

I really like this way of thinking.  But I'm sad to say I've had a severe lack of discrimination when it comes to new technology.  I've seldom considered how it would affect my family, or my community, in the long-run.  I've only seen the convenience or the entertainment value. As a result, my life is greatly complicated by new things to learn, equipment to break, replacement items to buy, and mediating fights over who gets to play what game and when.

Probably the only decision I've  made where I've disregarded technology is in not getting an electric can opener.  I realized that if we ever lost power, I would be frustrated.  Plus, I figured opening a can might burn a few extra calories (spoken like a true non-athlete).

I'm not saying I would ever get rid of my computer; I'm called to a life of outreach to this generation.  But I am challenged in the very best way to consider how to incorporate simpler habits, simpler processes and simpler equipment into my life. 

Can I live a simple life?  Probably not.  But I can take my time and consider the impact of something new before I invite it into my home and family's life.

Trickles tend to become streams, and streams become torrents.

Amish Proverb

In His Love,
Glynnis