"Simple Way"

A simple way to live each day,

And closer to the soil,

A horseback go and don’t you know,

A constant life of toil,

Just yesterday, that was the way,

Folks lived and did their best,

Lived from the land, that’s what they planned,

You know they earned their rest.

Yes, hard they worked and never shirked,

Their tasks out there alone,

But since they could, perhaps we should,

Learn what their lives have shone.

The high-tech crowd is way too loud,

For people such as me,

The open space can soon erase,

My stress, so leave me be.

I long for wind, my spirit send,

To distant pastures reach,

The river’s flow, creation’s show,

I yearn for God to teach.

Silence profound, I hear the sound,

Of nothing as it sings,

No man-made noise from man-made toys.

Can beat what this song brings.

My soul so sore, I wanted more,

Of that old life I left,

And now I’m back, and nothing lack,

Restored the devil’s theft.

Remember this when peace you miss,

It matters where you are,

The people who you listen to,

This world has grown bizarre.

It might just be that you will see,

A whole new way to live,

Away from town and noisy sound,

With the quiet God can give.

“Be still and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46:10, NLT)

Getting still stacks the odds that I become attentive to the Lord’s presence and His voice. Life is busy and noisy, and the two go together. What if we found a way to slow our pace and quieten our hearts? What if our tech obsession was tempered by big doses for fresh, outdoor air and scenic country viewed from the back of a horse? What if we developed a lifestyle that was more in sync with the created order, and learned to make space and time to seek the Lord? What if we limited the voices of chaos that tend to confuse and distract us? It’s not just the quiet place that is calling us. It is the Lord.

Lord, help us learn to be still and become attentive to You, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mark Maggiori, markmaggiori.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Mark, and God bless you.