God Made Learing Simple (Originally written Aug. 1996)

I was on vacation the week of July 8th.  I spent 5 days in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  The first night we stayed in the town of Brimley a small lake community 20 minutes southwest of Sault Ste Marie.  I had a dream and in this dream came the message "God Made Learning Simple."  I didn't have an immediate picture of what that meant; and asked God to make it clear to me.  Life is about lessons; about understanding how to go about doing the duties God asks us to perform.  Our lives should be simple and uncluttered.  The Spirit needs a simple environment in order to guide us.  Think about it, there was nothing obviously complex about Jesus.  There is nothing complex about his teachings; we make it that way.

Here is an example of how learning can be simple.  Have you considered how easy it is to believe the negative things someone will say even though you may have heard thousands of positive things?  When I was in the 10th grade my favorite teacher, Sister Grace Ann, told me that I had talent as a writer.  She was very excited about my abilities.  In the 11th grade a teacher whose name I cannot remember told me that I worked too hard.  Standardized tests showed that I was a "C" student and so I should "lighten up".  What do think stuck with me?  You probably guessed, the comments that I worked too hard.  Isn't it amazing that I cannot remember the teacher's name, but I can remember her negative comments (and she thought she was doing me a favor).

The lesson is simple; throw out the junk.  God does not have a quality control problem.  He only creates masterpieces.  Through a very bad habit of accepting "junk" into our spiritual space, we are led to believe that we are less than perfect.  Jesus took care of the problem long ago when he died so that we could be free.  Free to do the will of God; free to make our own choices.

I am going to spend the remainder of this year learning the simple lessons God has to teach me...How about you?

This lesson from 1996 is very relevant for me today.  I am still learning the simple lessons; I am still trying to unclutter my life.  I am still a pilgrim on the journey.

Pilgrim