I have been a bit of a self-licking ice cream cone. But this year, I wanted to conduct an experiment in intentional living. We’ve all been sort of beat down by two years of this coronavirus altered landscape, and much of the messaging to individuals has focused on taking care of oneself. I’m finding that my needs are few. You could find that in Marcus Aurelius and the pagan philosophers before him. You’ll also find it in Aquinas. He is happiest whose needs are fewest. In few possessions we find that we’re freed to enjoy all things.
Tawnya will be going in for foot surgery, probably in February, and I wanted to get her something for her birthday, in January, to help her fill the time when she’ll be off of her feet. I found a neat little Kalimba, which is a 17 key finger piano, and thought they were neat, so I got her one. I had to go out today and pick up wrapping paper and her birthday card. I picked up a few things for Valentine’s Day, too, since they were starting to put things out. And that got me thinking about Easter on April 17th. Not too far away
So, wouldn’t it be neat to all get together and decorated Easter eggs like we used to when the kids were little? I also found some jute Easter baskets with bunny ears for cheap, and I want to spend some time thinking about what to put in each one of them.
Living intentionally isn’t about glorifying myself. It’s quite the opposite. I believe that everything that happens, whether I understand it or not, has been allowed by God. That doesn’t mean that God made it happen. It doesn’t mean that he’s got me under His thumb and sometimes just wants to see how much I can take. It doesn’t mean that at all. Living intentionally is about reacting in such a way to the things that are bound to happen in everyone’s life, that every day becomes an opportunity to grow into betterment, into the person it is possible for us to become. Maybe it’s the person we were meant to be.
Truth is, I don’t know myself very well.