Grandpa’s Way of Life

It wasn’t so long ago that my life was so out of control that my emotions and body were screaming to get out of the raging river.  There never seemed to be enough time to complete my growing “to-do” list and I had no idea how to rest and enjoy.  While my personality is such that, even now, I can easily acquire a project list longer than any day is long, my attitude and approach toward those tasks have changed greatly.  I’m learning to not be so over-whelmed by it all, but to enjoy the journey along the way.

While generations of the past were certainly not idle, I’d guess that the difference between years gone by and the typical modern American lifestyle is the mind-set.  However, it seems that the tide may be changing and that more and more people are seeking a less complicated life.  I recently came across a Mark Brinkman song that speaks of this longing.

Grandpa’s Way of Life

He drank his coffee from a saucer,

Rolled his smokes from an ol’ tin can.

He could play Sally Goodin on the fiddle.

Yeah, he was Grandma’s kind of man.

Spent six days a week behind a plow mule

Turning acres into rows.

Yea, he’d even get up early Sunday morning

And put on his only Sunday clothes.

CHORUS:

And I wonder how things got so complicated.

You know it’s hard to find a good ol’ Barlow knife.

I’d love to throw computers out the window

And go back to Grandpa’s way of life.

In the 30’s he tried to give up farmin’,

Sold electric power door to door

He swore he’d never buy a German auto

After he got back in 44

His words and hand were stronger than iron.

Yea son, you could take that to the bank.

And every year when we brought in the harvest,

Well, Grandpa always knew just who to thank.

CHORUS:

And I wonder how things got so complicated.

You know it’s hard to find a good ol’ Rando knife.

I’d love to throw cell phones out the window

And go back to Grandpa’s way of life.

He could fix anything with balin’ wire or duct tape;

He called them God’s essential tools.

He never had much use for the TV,

All except for Walter Cronkite’s evening news.

He only had an 8^th grade education;

No Diploma hangin’ just for show.

But when it came to teachin’ me a lesson,

He will always be the smartest man I know.

CHORUS:

And I wonder how things got so complicated.

If I could hear his fiddle play tonight,

I’d throw my computer out the window

And go back to grandpa’s way of life.

I’d just go back to my grandpa’s way of life.

While I recognize that God’s timing is perfect in all things, sometimes I wish I could have learned a lot sooner that life was not intended to be complicated, rather it is simply about learning to enjoy His presence along the way!

Whole-Heartedly,

Bonnie

P.S.  Please feel free to contact me with questions, thoughts, topics you’d like to ponder or to read past articles at: http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/.  You may also contact me at:

             Bonnie Jaeckle

             In Search of the Whole-Hearted Life

             Diagonal Progress

             505 Jefferson St.

             Diagonal, IA 50845