For the first time in I-don’t-even-know-how-many years, we have a fridge that doesn’t have a water and ice dispenser in the door. Though the look is modern (stainless steel), the function is more like the old school refrigerators we grew up with. You’d think that “inconvenience” would drive me crazy. But there is something a little heart warming about it. The simple act of having to fill my own ice trays makes me feel a little closer to yesteryear and my childhood dream of being Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Okay, a stainless steel refrigerator that doesn’t produce its own ice is not exactly Little House On The Prairie. It does, however, take me back a bit to my childhood. Where life felt simpler but you had to work a little harder for the things we enjoy with the push of a button now. Simpler and Harder. Hmmmmm….that’s interesting…
Remember our rotary dial phones? How we had to take all that extra time and energy to manually turn the dial for the number we wanted? Now we can push a single speed dial button and talk to anyone we want. Still, there was something lovely in the sound of the dial moving with your finger and then returning to its original position. Simpler yet harder. (Side note: My friends and I were talking the other day about how naturally we remember our home phone numbers from our childhood, more than we remember phone numbers from our adult homes. Maybe all that dialing ingrained it in our minds. Or maybe our minds just like remembering those simpler, yet harder, times.)
When my daughter and I went to Africa years ago, I remember being in awe of the lack of stress there. Life was simple. But it was, in so many ways, hard, too. Hard work. Manual labor, Traveling by foot and bicycle instead of cars. No television, very limited internet and no phone service. So much that would seem difficult to our American standards. But I loved absolutely every minute of it because it was simple, stressless and worry free.
I have dear friends who make and hand write cards to people. So much less efficient than an email or text. So much time and energy. So “hard”. Yet the simplicity of the old fashioned pen adds so much warmth and personalization to any message
Or take people’s love of camping. Everything about camping is harder than being at home with all the modern conveniences. But the simple back to basics environment puts the rest of the world and its frenetic pace out of sight and mind. It reminds us of the skills and creativity we possess to do something with very little. A skill we seldom have to use in the real world.
The nursing home that I volunteer at is another perfect example. In so many ways the resident’s lives are harder. They have health and memory issues. Being in their presence requires physical strength to push wheelchairs and lift tired bodies back into their beds. They need help eating and bathing. But there is a sweet simplicity that they bring to the table. Childlike conversations. Their contentment with a hug, a smile or having their hand held. Simple but hard.
Difficulty and hard work have a beauty all their own. Even when it comes to situations. Working hard FOR something or THROUGH something or IN SPITE OF something produces the simple, yet profound miracle of character and appreciation. Enduring pain, either physically or emotionally can give an outcome of new strength and greater compassion. Simple terms gained through hard times.
Hard is not our enemy and can, in fact, be our friend.
Pick up a pen and write a letter to a friend. Walk down to the corner instead of driving. Make your own ice cubes. Do something a little harder and enjoy its simplicity.
James 1:3 – For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
2 Corinthians 4:17 – For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Proverbs 13:4 – The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
