The Campfire Is CallingSample

Stress Relief in the Simple Things

Smile on me, Your servant; teach me the right way to live.

PSALM 119:136 THE MESSAGE

The simple things are the best stress relievers. Things like taking a walk, watering the garden, watching the birds at the feeder, listening to a favorite playlist, the first sip of coffee in the morning, laughing with our kids, a drive through the countryside, and sitting around a campfire. The pace of the world has complicated our lives and stolen our time with screens, apps, and binge-watching. When we think back just twenty years, it’s shocking to realize where we are today in relation to the way we communicate and the things that monopolize our free time. And we have so little free time to begin with.

Reclaiming it takes effort. To get back to the simpler, stress-relieving activities that are so good for us, we need to be deliberate about putting a whole bunch of things in our lives on “silent” more of the time. God gives us the days; we choose how to fill them. “Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, here’s what you do: . . . run after peace for all you’re worth” (I Peter 3:10 The Message).

We need peace and quiet. We need simple things. We need to make wise choices to make wider spaces for doing the little things that decompress us. We have to look up, at each other, when we talk, dine, and spend time together. God created us to cultivate relationships. If we get caught up in catching up on all the newsreels and television shows, we miss the things God wants us to see—people, even our own, who need encouragement, hope, and a hug, or the elderly person at the grocery store who needs a hand or even a second of eye contact to let them know they’re not alone in this world. Real people really matter. We can do with less screen time today. Let’s look up. Let’s be God’s love. And let’s spend time doing a few simple things that make us smile.

Dear God, give me the wisdom to spend my time putting people first. Show me how important it is to invest in simple things with a quiet, thankful heart.