This round barn was a labor saving Shaker design. The haywagon could circle up to the hayloft for easy off loading. The circular design allowed for easy care of animals.

What the Bible Says

Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I don’t concern myself with matters too great
or too awesome for me to grasp.
Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,
like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.
Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—
now and always. Psalm 131

What My Mind Thinks

I grew up in a church in Niskayuna, New York. Just down the road from our Wesleyan Church was the birthplace of one of America’s odd religious groups. They were called the “Shakers” and are famous for their minimalistic furniture, labor saving designs and simple view of life. They gave us the circular saw, the flatbroom and the washingmachine, so they weren’t all that bad.

Their church theme song sums up the Shaker outlook:

‘Tis the gift to be simple,
’tis the gift to be free,
’tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
It will be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed.
To turn, turn will be our delight,
‘Til by turning, turning we come round right

There is a simplicity of life that comes when we pare away the externals and come to the simple basics. God knows, we do not and it is enough just to be near to him. The Shakers took this simple view of life right into the workshop where they designed their famous furniture. My father has a Shaker rocker in his livingroom. Like all Shaker furniture it is simply beautiful. The extraneous is removed, and what remains is both useful and beautiful. There is something comforting about rocking that chair because life comes down to it’s basics.

Yes we would like to get ahead, find out the future and to know all sorts of things that are smarter than we are. But the Lord invites us to the place of simplicity where we do not have yet what we want but we have him and that is enough.

Listen again to those words:

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed.
To turn, turn will be our delight,
‘Til by turning, turning we come round right

There are many turns in life and much bending and bowing. But we won’t be ashamed if we just live simply. Jesus is enough for me today.

What My Spirit Prays

I can’t say I’m harmonizing yet totally with Psalm 131. There is still some kicking in screaming in me. I’d like my bottle. But the Lord calls me to leave difficult questions with him and to just content myself to be with him. So I’ll look for that place of simplicity today.

What My Heart Says

Father my restless soul seeks rest in you today.