Thinking

The sun is shining and it seems like a beautiful day out. I haven't yet been outside. I've been sitting in the warmth of my home. As sunny as it is, it is still quite cold out. It's -5 C or 20F out there. So it's not very warm at all. There's a light breeze out there, and the world still goes on no matter what it's doing out there. Most of the trees are bare, except for a few odd leaves that have clung to them over the winter months. The ground is covered in a light covering of snow, and you can see the dead grass popping thro' by the fence posts. From where I sit, I can see a couple of squirrels playing and dashing across the hydro wires. Occasionally a bird flys thro' the trees, or lands on the hydro wires. It's amazing how the birds & the squirrels can cross these dangerous wires and sit on them without being fried from the high powers of electricity. Now that's something that I don't understand or know much about. What a truly amazing invention. They carry electricity from house to house and from one place to another and because of that we are provided with so many new and wonderful conveniences, and sources of power. It's something we often tend to take for granted. Many years ago before my time, people didn't have hydro in their homes. They didn't have electric stoves & fridges. They sure didn't have tv's & radios and computers weren't even thought about. The early settlers relied upon fires, oil lamps, wood stoves. These things were something they needed in order to stay warm, to cook with and to see. There weren't any flashlights either. They used their oil lamps to see in the dark and went to bed early. They worked hard to make ends meet and to survive despite many difficulties and problems they had to face. They worked the ground, raised animals, and tried to live off of the land. If they wanted to go anywhere they walked or they went by horse or horse & buggy. We walk out to our motor vehicles and drive all over the place. It our car doesn't get us where we want to go we rely upon buses, trains, planes..and so many other things that never existed back in the times of the pioneers.
When I was growing up I often wondered what it would have been like to have lived in the days of the pioneers. I was fascinated with shows and books about them and still enjoy them. When I was younger I sometimes wished I could go back to experience some of the things these people did. I'd sit & think about how things might have been if I'd lived back in a past time. They certainly had less distractions in their lives and less conveniences, and they worked from morning to night to make a living and to take care of their families. Times were difficult and people didn't always have very long lives. They struggled against various diseases, they suffered from severe weather conditions, and watched on as many tragedies & things destroyed their crops, their homes and even their families. Their lives were very hard, and yet family committments & values were important to them and something they worked at and tried to protect. They lived close to nature, and around them they saw all of God's creation, and sought to learn more about Him and to teach their family and draw them in thro' family times.
Nowadays people struggle in so many different ways. We've been given so many conveniences & things that are supposed to make out lives easier. We just go to the store and pickup whatever we want, be it food, clothes, electronics, etc. People are so busy running in different directions. Regular family time is almost non-existant. People are forced to work shift schedules, days, afternoons, nights and weekends, and often both parents are working outside of the home relying upon daycare for their children, or leaving them home to get by on their own. Many kids are travelling to school and coming home to an empty house. There is often no discipline, care, concern or help when they are upset or troubled or have something great to share. I'm not saying this sort of life isn't working. Nor is this the way in every home, but some people it is. Some people are thriving on it, and a lot of the kids are turning out fine. Unfortunately there's also a lot of them out there who aren't thriving, who aren't doing ok, who are going thro' hard times. Can you imagine what it must have been like in the days of the pioneers?
Nowadays you don't even have to go out to the store, People get on their computers and order things online. If we don't have the money, then we borrow it, or we run up debts and use charge cards without even thinking of how we are going to pay the bills...well in some cases. I don't want to put everyone in the same category as I know people are different. They all view life differently and they are are living at different levels according to their jobs, finances, health, circumstances in life. Charge cards seem to be away of life and people look at you strangely when you go to get something and they want your charge card as security and you tell them you don't have one. The other day I was checking out some prices on something in an attempt to reduce some bills. I was told I needed a charge card as security to get something that might help . When I said we didn't have one, the person suggested we borrow someone else's card...a family member or friends. What is this world coming to? He didn't want to take a chance on someone backing out of a deal and insisted on security via a charge card and nothing else would work out except to sign something saying you would instead pay their monthly fee's over a certain period. It was a minor thing and something I wasn't even sure I was interested in, but people are so pushy and figure their products are the only things that work and insist that you need to do something about it immediately. I didn't...I told them I needed to think about things and the person acted like I was losing out on a great deal and shouldn't waste time thinking.
I think perhaps he knew if I actually thought about it and compared prices & services, I would find something that worked just as well.
I'm tired of being rushed and told that I need to do things immediately, or I might lose out. If I lose out now, there will always be something else out there. Often something better! I can't go back to the days of the pioneers but I can certainly try to make things simpler.
If I think about things and pray about what I really need, then I'm not going to lose out for God is in control, and He is the one who supplies our needs.
The sun has gone, and the air has stilled, and thro' the cold, another day is drawing to an end. There will always be another day, and another tomorrow...and when the time comes for me when that new day does not dawn, then I'm trusting my God will bring me to my future and His promised land, and all the tomorrow's of eternity. A time when I will no longer have to wonder about anything, when true love will be found, and when I will find contentment & beauty beyond all I can imagine.