{"id":6367,"date":"2013-08-01T07:53:17","date_gmt":"2013-08-01T14:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michaboyett\/?p=6367"},"modified":"2013-08-01T07:53:17","modified_gmt":"2013-08-01T14:53:17","slug":"accidental-simplicity-a-guest-post-for-d-l-mayfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michaboyett\/2013\/08\/accidental-simplicity-a-guest-post-for-d-l-mayfield\/","title":{"rendered":"Accidental Simplicity (A guest post for D.L. Mayfield)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

My friend D.L. Mayfield has been hosting a series at her blog<\/a> about \u201cDownward Mobility,\u201d what it looks like to pursue less stuff and, in doing so, live more fully. When she asked me to contribute, all I could think was how I should not be the poster child for pursuing less stuff. I heart stuff. (Clothes? Toys? Random Kitchen Gadgets? I\u2019m in a constant battle to practice simplicity.)<\/p>\n

But the good news, the beautiful thing about my life in the city, is that something external is forcing me to simplify. Honestly, there\u2019s only so much space. And God is \u201chelping\u201d my stuff-collecting tendencies by giving me a lovely community full of people living simply and beautifully (with kids) in the city.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s some of my musing on why I didn\u2019t choose Downward Mobility, but it is choosing me\u2026<\/p>\n

\n

This first year back in San Francisco, I\u2019ve wondered, What are we doing here? I\u2019m raising two boys in an apartment, even though I know we could spend the same on a big house in another part of the country. I drive as little as possible (parking is difficult) and when I do, I cram my car in the world\u2019s tiniest garage. (I\u2019ve scraped it about forty-five times in the past ten months.) I\u2019ve had to simplify my wardrobe and keep it simple. (My petite closet demands so.) Fog or sunshine, I\u2019m forced to get my kids to the park in order to burn off their energy (and then forced to get to know the people around me on that playground, doing the same thing). My son has Korean friends and Chinese friends and Jewish friends and he and I have had a lot of conversations about race and beliefs. I live above neighbors who don\u2019t have kids, who don\u2019t like noise, and I have cried tears over our situation with them, but I\u2019ve also been forced to have compassion for them, respect them, and work towards peace with them. In other words, this city is refining me. Challenging me. And in some ways, accidentally turning me radical.<\/p>\n

Yes, my husband commutes an hour to work. Yes, I\u2019m not thrilled with the school where my son is starting Kindergarten. \u00a0But, I\u2019m confronted daily with severe beauty and severe brokenness. In the city, I can\u2019t pretend that the world is a simple place. I can\u2019t pretend that we don\u2019t need God.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s refining me. But it\u2019s not refining me alone. I\u2019m surrounded by friends who remind me that living in the city with kids is not only possible, it\u2019s good.<\/p>\n

Did I choose Downward Mobility? No. I think it chose me.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019d love for you to read the rest over at D.L. Mayfield\u2019s blog. Find it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 My friend D.L. Mayfield has been hosting a series at her blog about \u201cDownward Mobility,\u201d what it looks like to pursue less stuff and, in doing so, live more fully. When she asked me to contribute, all I could think was how I should not be the poster child for pursuing less stuff. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":999,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[121,204],"class_list":["post-6367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guest-post","tag-spiritual-practice","tag-the-city"],"yoast_head":"\nAccidental Simplicity (A guest post for D.L. Mayfield) - Micha Boyett<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  My friend D.L. 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