Simple faith

I received an interesting text from my cell phone provider last night. Feeling overwhelmed by the number of applications out there? it asked. Go to this web site to help sort it it out. So I did. And felt even more confused. On the left of the page, I could "Browse by Category" (there were 17 categories). In the center, one block offered "Recommendations" and another "Apps in the News" and another "Hot Apps" and another "Price Cuts" and there were at least five other blocks I could have perused. So much for simplicity. So many of us feel overwhelmed by life in general and our culture continues to give us an endless amount of opportunities to stay connected, learn more, improve ourselves. It's easy to feel that way about faith, too, especially if we're just starting out or renewing our search after time away. Where do we start? One of my mantras in recent months consists of three words: I breathe deeply and tell myself, "Slow down. Simiplify." Every morning when I wake up, I focus on this particular day and give thanks for it. God has given me, for example, October 26, 2011. I will never again have the gift of this particular day. And I am thankful. When I feel a wave of anxiety about all the things I have to do during the day, I break it down even more. I have been given this hour between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. I can handle focusing on this hour. This is a gift. And I am thankful. I've been known to then break that down into 15-minute increments sometimes! For me, this is more than just a simple time management skill. It's prayer. It's a way for me to be reminded of the abundance of life and the strong and constant presence of God. One moment at a time.