Several of my friends have been making fun of me for moving to a farm located in Mississippi, (of all places). I am in the process of remodeling and building a nice addition to the existing house, and as a temporary measure that will enable us to have a place to live while the work is being completed, we bought a single wide trailer. This way we can continue to live on the farm and enjoy it as well as monitor construction. Now some of my friends, (who remind me of Costa Rica’s howler monkeys), are aghast and laughingly calling me “trailer trash”. They of course consider themselves to be above living in a lowly trailer. As for me, I am not trying to impress anyone, and I don’t mind living there at all and neither does my wife.
It is odd how people judge others according to what they perceive someone’s net worth to be. I could care less about those things. I have been literally homeless and penniless; I was very poor when I got married and worked long hours for decades to build a career, and yes it paid off and I have had millions of dollars in my bank account ready to spend. So, one might say I have lived several lives and experienced what each of them had to offer first-hand.
Someone who heard that I was moving to a house trailer said, “O’ how the mighty have fallen”. That comes from 2nd Samuel and has little to do with wealth, but it just shows that they have not matured enough to understand that the dictionary’s definition of success is erroneous. They describe it as the accumulation of wealth, power, fame, and/or achieving some significant milestone such as being a part of a football team that wins a Super Bowl, or having a building named after you or whatever. I say hogwash. Success is knowing peace, love, joy, and happiness and those things can only be accomplished on a lasting basis through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
On the farm I have an appreciation and deep love for God’s creation and my relationship with my Lord is stronger than ever. The gorgeous land with ponds brimming with hungry fish and honking geese, the deer and turkey and other wildlife that adorn it are like ornaments on a Christmas tree, the sunrises and sunsets set the sky on fire and turn the clouds purple. O’ the joy of seeing it day in and day out. These are the sights and sounds of God filling this place with Himself and demonstrating His awesome peace and quiet.
His love is evident even with the lowest of his creatures, they are magnificent and some touch the soul and fill it with joy.
As for accomplishment, I work hard to till the soil and plant the seeds and after a rain and a few days new plants burst forth and my sense of accomplishment is fulfilled.
Living in a big mansion does not bring me peace, love, joy, or much in the way of accomplishment. My farm home will be very nice when completed, but it is after all a place to live; it is not life. I say live life the way God intended; appreciate the skies, the land, the creatures, and Him filling with you with His Spirit. Money and material things are not the answer. Look towards the lives of the rich and famous. Not all, but most are miserable even though their coffers are full and everyone recognizes them when they go out on the street.
When David wrote the beginning of Psalm 19, The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. I can imagine him looking around, admiring the magnificence of nature – the clear blue sky, the array of colors, and the vast night sky filled with trillions of glistening stars. What David meant in this verse is that God’s creation, the beauty, and awe of nature, shows us the work of God and the existence of God. Nature unashamedly proclaims that God is real, and He is our Creator. Jesus owned all of creation, but He was humbler than anyone who ever walked this earth. Recognize what He is telling us and enjoy it. I thank Him every day for what He has entrusted me with for this season and that includes that single wide trailer. It’s a beauty!
Job 12:7
“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.