God sure does care a lot about each and every one of us. Wow...what a remarkable understatement. There are not enough words or even one actual word that describes God's love for us. We try to express it in so many different ways, and it STILL doesn't seem to cover it, does it?
Life in rural (or semi-rural) is so different from life in metropolis' like Minneapolis, where I grew up, or Las Vegas, where I lived over 20 years, that it it almost the difference between day time and night time. Each has their advantages I suppose. The bigger the more "stuff" close by and easier access to buy, use, or take advantage of....like an Apple Store for instance. The closest one for me is over a two hour drive to get to. Pat doesn't see a down side to that though. I suppose I don't either as I would constantly be there "getting something". There is a zoo there to, I hear. Once you have seen the San Diego Zoo, most others are ho-hum. Living in Minneapolis, we used to go to Como Park Zoo a lot. Now for a zoo, it is a wonderful place to see the monkeys, elephants, and their Conservatory with all the plants and exotic ferns and such was, and is, really awesome. Como Park Zoo has expanded through the years and I am a FaceBook fan of theirs, but San Diego Zoo is 100 times larger and has it's own niche in the Zoo world...as every Zoo does. The point is that Cities and Rural towns are like night and day different. It didn't take me too long to convert to rural living when we moved here a little over four years ago. We have adapted to the slower, less immediate nature of living our lives. For us, that is wonderful, and actually super great! It has taught us to plan what we do, if there is anything to plan, that is. Doctor trips are usually a most of the morning and ending with lunch at Perkins trip. There is a Lowes in Jackson, AND Union City, so there is a choice of places to go, which will determine if it is a focused trip JUST to Lowes, or if Hobby Lobby is needed. While living in the big cities, THAT wasn't part of the thought process because everything was close by. Here in Rural USA, it is...just for the timing convenience factor. You get the idea.
Small towns have the basic commodities like a grocery store, post office, gas station, Pharmacy, maybe. We have access to all of those within a ten minuet drive. The larger selection of eateries is a little farther and the best selection (depending on what your craving is at the time) takes 45 minutes or so to get to. The upside factor that makes our hearts calm and our life pleasant, is the fact that what we NEED is generally close by. We have adapted to that fact. We have found that values plays an important part of decision making. Do we want to spend the extra time going to somewhere? Is it really worth the effort? Do we really NEED to go? Most times we talk ourselves out of an hour and a half round trip just to go to get something special to eat that we have a craving for, at the time.
As I am writing these thoughts this morning, Pat has gone with daughter Amy to a Girl Scout annual training event and I am sitting here in my office retreat (former master bedroom), in my stocking feet, writing and the cat is sitting in the window watching the rain falling in the back yard. What comfort this is. Knowing that life is going on and it doesn't need to revolve around constant activities, or crowds, or the hustle bustle of cars trying to occupy the same space with the other guy, to get somewhere sooner, because of their poor planning! Here it is Saturday morning, watching the somewhat gentle rain, watering the corn fields across the road, and my biggest demand today is going to the refrigerator or freezer to get something to eat. How blessed is that?
I started out this morning thinking I would be writing about music and what was going on in that area, but evidently that will wait for another time.
If you are living in a larger community, God bless you. There is an alternative if you can do it. A calmness that rural living helps provide. However, the key to calmness is NOT where you live, but where, or IF, you have God living within yourself. THAT is what is, in the end, of maximum importance. I feel so blessed and content, because I know that whatever happens between now and when I go to my final home with God, that I will continue to share my life with HIM and with letting y'all know about it, so you can get in on the BEST DEAL in LIFE! No matter how busy you are, where you live, what you do for an occupation, married or single, young or old, there is ALWAYS time to spend with God, because He is ALWAYS there. I do feel sorry for those that don't have that faith. They are missing out on the best part of life, not accepting God. It has made such a big part of my life, and looking back on it, it is God that has been guiding me though, all the way. May you be as blessed as Pat and I have been.
Remember:
Keep praying, keep singing, keep smiling
Blessings,
Gary
No comments:
Post a Comment