Because we home school, what was once my “home office” is now the “classroom”. Label it home office or classroom, I have found that I flourish and am most creative and relaxed when I am surrounded by the things I love. Much like the rest of my house, it is filled with collectibles, photographs, old books, etc. On my desk is a calendar/blotter from the Susan Branch collection. I love, love, love her whimsy, her artwork, the colors she uses, etc. Loosely woven into her month of May calendar page are lines like, “Time began in the garden”, “If you’re happy & you know it, clap your hands” and “Won’t you come into our garden? We would like our flowers to see you.” But there is one quote that I’m particularly drawn to every time I sit down at my desk, “’Earth’s crammed with heaven & every common bush.’ Elizabeth Barrett Browning.” My translation of this would be, “God can be found in all living things.” Amen? Amen!
When we found the property we now call home, it was completely wooded. I told my husband I wanted him to carve out a winding road and put our house smack dab in the middle of the woods; and that’s exactly what he did. We are completely surrounded by trees and all kinds of wildlife. I love living in the woods; it’s quiet and peaceful and easy to find God in this setting. As I look out of the classroom window, I see Pine, assorted Oaks, Yaupon, and what we not-so-lovingly call “scrub trees”. The trees are particularly beautiful right now because we had a little rain a few days ago. I also see dirt where grass cannot grow because of the shade the trees provide. I see the family dog rolling in a patch of grass, birds at the feeders, and the cat asleep in the birdbath. The sky is blue today and there’s a gentle breeze. If we don’t stop long enough to enjoy these things, I guess I can see how easy it would be to miss God in all of this.
For me, the trees are not just trees; when I look at them I am reminded of the Garden of Eden, the place where Adam walked with God. The place where Adam not only shared his most private thoughts with God, but he did so face-to-face. How I long for the day when I can do the same.
The dirt is not just dirt. It is the “stuff” of which God formed Adam. The same stuff my kids trample through the house, the stuff that accumulates so quickly on the top of the coffee table, the TV cabinet, and the dresser – this dust, this dirt was used to create man. This dirt also reminds me that I am nothing without God.
As I watch the animals, I am reminded of the many discussions I have had with my children about why God created mosquitoes, or gnats, or love bugs and how Adam managed to come up with all those names.
The clear blue sky and the gentle breeze remind me of the story in 1Kings 19. We expect to find God in the bigger things/the bigger events in our lives; in fact, we look for Him there. We’re relieved when He shows up and angry when we think He hasn’t. But God was not found in the powerful wind, or the earthquake, or the fire; God was found in “the gentle whisper”. I love that picture.
If anyone reading this has never watched at least one episode of The Waltons, shame on you! It was (and still is) one of the best family-based television shows produced. If you have seen it, you know that the series was built around a family consisting of 7 children, a mother AND a father, and a grandmother and grandfather – all living under the same roof during The Great Depression which began in 1929.
It’s not The Waltons that I specifically want to talk about here, but the lifestyle of people during that period. Life was simple then. You may say, “There was nothing about living through the depression that was simple!” Absolutely, I get that. I guess what I mean is, when you don’t have “things” to clutter your life/your space, and to occupy your mind, all you’re left with is – family. Today we are in bondage to our schedules, our conveniences, our toys, our debt.
John Walton, Sr., and men like him during that time, wasn’t obsessed with his career and making money so he could buy more things. He worked hard at any job he could get just to put food on the table for his family. He had to be creative; He bartered for food, livestock, and services. He taught his children how to use their hands and their minds in the same way by his own example. The children had chores that included far more than just feeding the family dog. They were expected to learn skills pertaining to jobs inside the home and out. They were taught not just to work hard but to do a good job. They learned that if they wanted something outside the definition of their basic needs, they would have to work or barter for it themselves. This upbringing afforded each one of them the opportunity to learn and establish a good work ethic.
I remember my grandmother, who was raised with 2 brothers, telling me how she used to have to herd cows with the rest of the boys/men on my great-grandfather’s ranch. She told of how she had to get up before dawn, help with breakfast, do her own household chores, then head for the stables where she would ready herself and her horse for herding, branding, or whatever was on the agenda for the day. At the end of the day, she would head for the kitchen to help her mother prepare the evening meal. She would then help with dishes, complete any unfinished chores, then off to bed only to rise the next morning and repeat the same.
I’m sure she complained. I’m sure she was tired. I’m sure she dreamt of a different kind of life, maybe even living in the city, without the smell of livestock. But this was her life. It was all she knew. It was how her family made a living. In many ways, she was happy to be able to do her share. I remember her as being an extremely hard worker, afraid of nothing and no one; she was strong physically and emotionally.
Back at the Walton’s, neighbors were there for each other. If your barn burned down, they were there to help you put out the fire, clean up the mess, and raise it up again; you didn’t have to ask them, they would just show up. Today, we not only don’t know our neighbors, we don’t want to know our neighbors.
The long and the short of it is this, when life was simpler it was all about family. Everyone ate at the table together, everyone gathered around the radio together after supper, everyone went to church together and sat on the same pew. It didn’t matter how much they had or didn’t have, they had each other.
No, I didn’t grow up during this time, but my grandmother did raise me so I suppose many of her “old ways” rubbed off on me. Children these days are growing up in a society that espouses an “ALL ABOUT ME” mentality. There is a sense of entitlement that is sickening on the part of adults and children alike. There is no GOOD work ethic, especially among young men and boys. Boys get everything they want so why should they get a summer job and unmarried men are still living at home with their parents. Parents expect the church to teach their children and many share no spiritual relationship with their children at all. That is so sad to me. Some of the sweetest treasures God has given me have been through teaching and interacting with my children spiritually. Families don’t sit together in church AND there’s no “church etiquette”. We see food and drink in the sanctuary, people (adults and children) walk in front of the Pastor, as he’s speaking just to go to the bathroom, there is talking during the service instead of listening. Fathers don’t know their role in the home; mothers don’t know their position in the family; children don’t know where they fit in and sometimes feel like they don’t fit in at all – SOMEBODY STOP ME!!
We have always worshipped with our children. My girls are grown and have families of their own now, but they are still in church with us. My teenage son sits with us. My grandchildren occasionally bless us by climbing into our laps during the worship service. For us, church is a family affair and I think that’s the way God intended it. There is a spiritual intimacy that binds you together when you worship as a family; a spiritual bond.
Oh, how I long for a simpler time, a simpler life! A life where people are more important than things. A life where families eat together and pray together and pull together. A life where you not only know your neighbor’s name but you fellowship together, raise your children together.
I heard James Dobson speak on women and depression once. He said that years ago, women had fellowship together over coffee, over the clothesline, in the backyard with their kids; they saw each other daily, they were each other’s support system. Today, women are isolated, so to speak, because of their jobs, their children’s activities, and their schedules. Dobson said that women need other women in their everyday lives to grow, to nurture and be nurtured, to encourage, to strengthen. I sooo believe this to be true. I have needed it in my own life; especially when I was raising small children. I have been blessed to disciple many women over the years and I can tell you that every one of them would have greatly benefitted from having another God-fearing woman to walk through life with.
The simple life. Will we ever see it again?
Only if God becomes the foundation of the home. Only if moms are willing to trust God enough to stay at home with their children. Only if dads will bow their knees and become the Priest in their homes. Only if husbands pray with their wives and bathe them in the Word of the Lord. Only if children respect their parents as the authority God has placed over them.
Only if families come together under God, the Creator of all things.
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