INSPIRASUNS

A friend of mine is a photographer and a very good one at that. He has an amazing gift for capturing a picture where you and I would never have known there was one. He takes pictures of anything and everything, landscapes, wildlife, homes, food, and of course people. He can capture a smile like no other, he can share the beauty of nature in the snapshot of a flower tucked away in a tree. He truly is gifted.

Most recently he has be sharing photos using black and white film. Through the recent “road trips” he’s ventured on, have come some of the most fun shots. Vintage pictures almost. Cars, old buildings, and a few antique thrift stores, these pictures help you step back in time. They help you remember a simpler time.

As I thought about his pictures this morning, it took me back to simpler times indeed. Those times before cell phones, when people actually had conversations. Those times when neighbors would sit on the porch and enjoy an evening as their kids played outside in the dirt, (rather than playing the latest video game in front of the TV). Those times when, as a kid, I’d leave the house at 8:00 a.m. on a summer morning on my bike, and wouldn’t be back until dark. My friends and I would play all day without a single worry of being harmed by a stranger. Those times when the local drug store also served the best milkshakes and had the best assortment of candy you could find and that store was owned by a neighbor in the community. Those times when we wrote letters on paper and mailed them. Those times when you used an actual key to start your car instead of pushing a button.

Yes, they were simpler times. They were times when we may have had to work a little harder or think a little bit more to accomplish the task, but we were stronger for it. Instead of taking the easiest way, we learned how to do things, relied on neighbors, watched out for each other’s kids, supported the local businesses, and took pride in what we accomplished.

I’ve shared here recently that I’m learning some new things, but those things have been around forever. I’ve been spending time experimenting with making bread, yes from scratch. I’m digging back into sewing and spending time purchasing produce from farms that grow things locally, and shocker, they are growing them in the soil. Yes, I’m taking time to go back to simpler times, and simpler ways, rather than spending the time learning the newest techy gadget. Quite honestly I’m not sure my mind can handle the next techy gadget. It can handle working with my hands and smelling a fresh loaf of bread, and it is happier seeing something made by my hands, (oh that can also take care of my hunger).

I think Father wants us to not only remember those simpler times but wants us to reinstill some of those ways. Rather than taking the easiest path, I think He wants us to dig in and do the hard work, learn the new skill, talk to and learn from each other. Those simpler times, those ways that may seem old fashioned, well, they are some of the most reliable ways even today in our techy world.

Friends, let’s not let the ease of today’s gadgets take us away from doing what we were born to do, to take care of ourselves, and our families. Take some time to remember those simpler times, and maybe even step back in time a bit and learn something new 🙂 .

Have a good day everyone, and thanks as always for being here to read my little ramblings 🙂 .

Jeremiah 6:16
Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’