Growing up in the 50s and 60s I experienced a different world than what we have now. In more ways than we can count, life is better now; however, it is not better in every way.
There is more stress due to the fact that we have so much more. Having more means that there are more things to take care of. We did not have air conditioning in our house but we did have an attic fan. The first air conditioned car I ever saw was in 1962. Our family made a trip to Arizona in mid summer of 1959 without air conditioning in our car. We just rolled down the windows and let the 100 degree air blow in on us. Now, that sounds so primitive, but then it was normal.
We get acclimated to what we have and never miss what we do not know exist. Once we are expanded to new conveniences and experiences, we cannot go back. These new things soon become normal. I cannot imagine going to sleep every night in temperatures of 90 in my bedroom, or making a 2,000 mile trip in 100 degree heat in a car with kids 8 and 10 years old. I did, however, experience it at one time in my life and didn’t think anything about it because it is all that I knew.
I wonder how many new things I have yet to experience. Will I be excited about them, or will I resist them? Not every new thing is better so how will I know what is good and what is not?
These are the everyday issues we discuss every Sunday at 10:30 am at our church building, 240 Courthouse Parkway in Washington C.H.; on live stream, gatheringplacewch.org; on Facebook, The Gathering Place. You can download our app at the app store, GP Church.
John Pfeifer
