The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Ecclesiastes‬ ‭12‬:‭13

Keeping things simple is certainly no simple matter.

Or at least not an easy one.

Time and again we come up against the innate desire to complicate our lives by inviting distractions into them.

We push aside the very solution that has been working so well in favor of fantasy and entertainment and study and anything except the simple practices we’ve been taught.

Trust God, clean house, help others.

This is simple.

But it’s also no small order. It should take a lifetime of focus and figuring out. And it’s intended to.

We are intended to be vessels. To the extent that we reach outward in our sobriety, do we then receive the grace and relief we were after to begin with.

Yes, it is a paradoxical dance. Yes, it is a perpetual machine of passing it forward and serving rather than being served.

But it does work. The proof is there once we’ve tried it.

After the initial leap into the sober world and the shock of living without our crutches, we must accept a spiritual way of living or be confined to the dissatisfaction of those still living for themselves.

I am hopeful for the 24 hours ahead.

God, help me keep things simple and pay it forward.