If life offers you a simple, easy day, take it! Such a day is rare and wondrous. Take it easy! Enjoy the blessing of a simple day.
Note about the image. I took this picture of a tiny flower along the road by Mystery Acres.
My Mysterious Mind
Last night I considered my plans for today, plans that included the hope of writing. I searched my mind for ideas, but none were forthcoming. Rather than continue this pointless hunt, I decided to see what the new day might bring. Perhaps I would wake up with an idea.
Upon awakening this morning, I surveyed the day ahead and sighed contentedly. Nothing big on my day’s agenda, the phrase “Take it Easy” popped into my mind. Really? Could I relax and enjoy the blessing of a simple day?
So many days are hard, have been hard recently.
But today looks easy.
Easy? I’ll take it!
Life is often hard. Staying married is hard. Raising children is hard. Training is hard. So much of what makes life good requires what is hard.
Many days bring trouble. Perhaps not this one?
Maybe today nothing will break, all plans will go smoothly, children will listen and obey, the weather will be calm.
An easy day? I’ll take it!
Today might be the miracle of an easy day. There’s something grand in its perfect simplicity, a break from the difficult. Aaah!
The message in my mind this morning was “Take it easy, accept, with gratitude, the blessing of a simple day.”
Yesterday I hoped to write today but had no idea. This morning I found a message, placed in my mental “inbox,” –
Easy? I’ll take it!
I’ve lived too many years to expect a day to go as I had hoped. A realist, I anticipate that plans may need to change, people might behave differently than I expected, and there may be trouble ahead before I lay my head down for tonight’s sleep. I don’t expect any day to be easy. But when it is, I hope to recognize that blessing for the miracle it is.
Take it easy! Enjoy the blessing of a simple day.
Message of Mystery Acres
What does the forest teach me about life being easy? It shows me that life is hard. I can pack a lunch, bring a lawn chair, and sit in the forest for a few hours. Beyond that requires work.
Sometimes I think about the labor required by indigenous people for their survival. Hunting for animals to eat, then processing the meat to eat and other parts for materials. Their lives required scavenging for berries and edible plants, making tools from stones and bones, and using natural materials for clothing and shelter. At the end of a long, hard day of work, I’m confident they enjoyed a chance to “take it easy” before a night of well-earned rest. It may be the influence of movies, but I picture them sitting around a campfire telling stories and singing a song or two at day’s end.
Such a lifestyle doesn’t seem easy to me, but it does have a beautiful simplicity. Their efforts were focused on survival and were combined with the work of others in communities. The shift to “modern” times brought goods produced through industrialization. Food, clothing, tools, and building materials could be purchased. Community and hard work were exchanged for individualism and the promise of an easier life.
It seems human beings are driven to make things easier. The focus of my message isn’t “make it easy,” but, rather, “take it easy.” I’m not certain making life easier is always for the better. But I am confident that accepting a simple day as a blessing, a chance to take it easy, is good.
The message of Mystery Acres is to work when it is necessary and to relax when given a blessed day in which to do so. Take it easy! Enjoy the blessing of a simple day when you get one.
Ancient Mystery’s Voice
“Jesus said, ‘My yoke is easy.’” (See Matthew 11:30)
When two oxen plow a field together, they are connected by a yoke. This heavy implement provides a way for the burden to be pulled by the pair. For normal farming, the work is divided, making the pulling easier. But, in this perplexing statement by Jesus, He declared His yoke to be easy.
“Here, let Me put this on you, it will be easy.”
Sure, Jesus, that looks heavy to me.
Alternative translations for the original Greek word are “pleasant.”
“Here, let Me put this heavy yoke on you, it will be pleasant.”
Um, ok, Jesus, but it looks unpleasant to me.
What am I missing here?
Two are pulling together when yoked. The second person working beside me is the same One who designed me for the job, Jesus. The load is harder and more unpleasant when I try to carry it alone. If the load seems too much for me to bear, it’s probably because I am not allowing Jesus to help me with it.
Jesus says, “take it easy,” which translates as “let Me help you with that.”
Ancient Mystery’s Voice says, “hey, you are making this harder than it needs to be.” The burdens placed on us were not meant to be carried alone; they were meant to be carried with the help of the Lord. Sometimes a day seems easy, and the blessing of a simple day is clear. At so many other times, the day seems too heavy, the burden too great. At those times it is especially important to hear the words of Jesus, “my yoke is easy; please take it as I intended, to be a burden carried with My help.”
Living in Mystery
What does it mean to live in the mystery of “take it easy,” and the blessing of a simple day? The foundation of this mystery is gratitude for the fleeting moments of simplicity. I am so grateful for an easy morning, especially because an email I received in the afternoon set fire to my being, and not in a good way. When given the blessing of a simple day, or part of one, accept it with gratitude. Such gifts are beautiful and precious.
Don’t expect life to be easy, it usually isn’t. Modern conveniences promise to make life easier, implying that such a life will be better. The reality of modern living is the complications of manufactured things breaking down and wearing out. Expect to work, and often hard, to have and maintain a life that is good.
But don’t work all the time. Make time for enjoying simple pleasures. Take a slow walk and notice birds singing and flowers blooming. Sit by a campfire and enjoy the company of friends. Seek times to “take it easy.” And, in the midst of busy days, pause to enjoy the blessing of an easy one.
When your burden is feeling heavy and difficult, ask for the Lord’s help to carry the yoke upon you. Hear His voice declaring, “My yoke is easy,” and allow your burden to become His. Perhaps you have made it harder than it needs to be by refusing His help. The stronger ox can shoulder more of the load; let Him.
Most days of this life require work. When life offers you an easy day, say, “Easy? I’ll take it!” If the day is hard, remember it could be easier with the help of One who can share the weight of the yoke. With help the complicated can be simple, the unbearable can be made bearable.
Take it easy! Enjoy the blessing of a simple day.
Connecting with Mystery
Dear Lord of All Mystery, I confess to sometimes making things more difficult by stubbornly insisting on carrying the weight on my own. Thank You for the offer to turn what is heavy into what is not. Help me to surrender to Your help, taking the easy yoke You offer. Amen.
Notes from Dr. Mac
If you want to do your own investigation of any of the scriptures I use, try Bible Gateway. For this week, ponder the invitation for help from Jesus in Matthew 11.
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