Faith Comes By Hearing (Blog Post #10)

This week's blog post is submitted by a guest contributor.

Shema | Listen | Act

Carol Emerson Hill, San Jose

The beach is 1.5 miles south of my home and about equal distance to the north sits a beautiful mountain range.  I'm so close, yet so far away from these meditative places that offer peaceful, reflective space to get to know our Creator. Yet, I rarely have time.  My life with all its cluttered stuff, activities and obligations has become crowded.  Our lives have little margin as they brim over with keepsakes, files, documents, books, storage boxes, hobbies, and "idea-of-the-month" projects.

Are the weeds of life taking over the garden of our lives? Should we question priorities? Our 24-hour day has so little clear space for following the Hebrew Shema. (The Shema was the title of the prayer that was the centerpiece of morning and evening supplication). 

 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5).

"All" is a whole lot! Is there space in our lives for this?? Survey the landscape of your world; do you see margin? Peace or chaos? When my life is crowded there's always a "to do" list in my head which takes my focus off God. I'm distracted and anxious, and even grumpy.  

When I was a young mother, I remember one panic-stricken call to my mom. I was utterly fret filled with the care of a farm, two babies and a house that was turned upside down.  I'll never forget her gentle, calm and wise instructions to me.  It helped me get some mental margin back.

In my frenzy, mom gently advised me to clear off the kitchen counters and dish-filled sink by placing every item in a dishpan.   Surprisingly, she then instructed me to put it the oven. Next she had me walk around the house with a laundry basket (all of this while she waited on the phone), adding every out-of-place item inside.  Then she said, "Put the basket in the closet and shut the door."   Amazingly I felt better!  Just clearing my physical space gave me mental margin. My mom calmed me down in 15-minutes. 

Clearing space for peace of mind is so helpful when our goal is to make God and His way of life our priority. There are many ways to de-clutter our worlds. Here are some things I'm doing:

1.     Put God first!  (First in the day and all day)

2.     I'm using up what I buy. (I must have had a good reason for buying it).

3.     If it's not valuable I toss or recycle. 

4.     I cut up my credit card.  Now I'll buy less. 

5     Toss 10 items a day (even if its 10 pieces of paper).

My goal is to create margin for God to be my ALL!   To clear space and simplify my life, taking one corner or box at a time. I aim to create time and space to get to the beach more, or walk in the woods.  I want room to contemplate and listen. I want time to focus on the life that follows the Shema, to love Him with my "all in all!"