A matter of perspective
Jim Thompson
By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist
Sometimes, I think I am the luckiest guy in the world. Besides having a great family with few problems, I have friends I could have only imagined at an earlier age.
My farming friends are particularly interesting. I have Mennonite friends in four states. They farm with horses on plots of land often less than 100 acres. I have a “dry land” farming friend in Kansas who farms 7,000 acres with the biggest equipment one can imagine.
I have talked to all of them about the concept of being “rich” or “poor.” All emphatically say they are rich.
Want to know why? They are all Christians.
I’ve pressed some of them on the idea of being rich, and they all emphatically say they are. And they all put it in the context of being a Christian. It is not about money.
I was sitting in the kitchen of some friends in the glow of a kerosene lamp a few weeks ago, and we were chuckling over this. They have a new neighbor who doesn’t understand their ways and keeps bringing them things because they don’t have certain things.
It has not occurred to this neighbor that they don’t want these things.
In the modern world, we are trained that we are not rich if we don’t have certain material goods in abundance. It took me a long time to learn that this is a fool’s pursuit.
Riches come with family and faith, not new toys. It would be great if we could get this across to kids in grade school and preserve the idea through high school. I think it would make for a more peaceful world with more satisfied people.
Slightly changing the subject, one of the riches all my farmer friends have that I do not is this. They can all walk outside at night, look up, and see the stars. City living has taken this away from us; yet, I am reminded of it every time I go out in the country.
Looking up at the stars reminds us how close God is.
Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press.
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Comment
An excellent column Jim...
...we are more alike than many would suspect even if we don't see eye to eye on a few things. For one thing, you can't be the the luckiest guy in the world because I hold that title.
I have a great family with a great many problems and an eclectic group of friends scattered around the globe.
It makes me happy when the kids of my "city" friends and family visit what they call "the farm". I mean, what else would you call a dozen tomato plants and a couple of rows of beans?
Every August we have an open invitation for the Perseid meteor shower. There is a camp fire for cooking s'mores, hotdogs etc, swimming in the pond (keep an eye out for Big Gus the snapping turtle), nature walks, paper airplane contests, wood splitting competitions, storytelling and so on.
Since it's my home, it's my rules
1. No guns. That rule came about 20 years ago when 10 year old Sean "accidentally" shot a sparrow with his BB gun and my spouse made him pluck it in preparation to roasting over the fire (you kill it, you eat it) but unfortunately it mysteriously disappeared. I still don't know what a sparrow tastes like, and neither does Sean. I'm assuming it tastes like chicken.
2. No unsupervised children at the fire or up by the pond. Parents are responsible for their children's safety and behavior.
My favorite part is laying on my back on the floating dock in the middle of the pond looking at the stars and watching for meteors. The field of view is nothing but sky.
This year the shower peaks on August 13th, 1 day after the new moon, so it should be a fine show.
I'm a very rich man.
Thank you Jim.
I leave for work at 4:45 AM, west of Rainsboro and East of Eden. During the clear mornings when I step outside, I see the stars, the planets, and the phases of the moon. That is when I'm reminded to take a few moments and thank the everlasting God: "This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." I should also thank the Lord on the cloudy, dreary, and rainy mornings too...