Seeing Things Differently

road trip

One thing about traveling along highways, I see more abandoned and neglected buildings in the country than I do in town. Did they become disheveled because no one cared or because no one enforced the housing codes? It's the chicken and the egg thing. Are there other possible reasons? Maybe they just see life differently than I do.

I'm always curious about people who choose to live off the grid. (I'm not using this term in the traditional sense but in relation to living independently rather than in a cluster with others). For some, it may be a financial thing. It's cheaper to live out of town. It may be tradition, something their families have always done. For others, however, I think it's more to do with fierce individuality or a true love of the land. They just like it that way.

I used to prefer living on the edge of town, in touch with nature yet within arm's reach of civilized amenities. I'm still happiest when I'm outdoors. But as I've grown older, I find myself savoring the city more. I like the people connection, the restaurants, the culture. There is an order and expectation to it, unlike the seeming randomness of nature.

I don't do well, however, when I've been away from nature too long. I'm not talking about manicured lawns and well-kept gardens. I'm talking about the sheer beauty that is nature, that is divinely inspired, that is God. I always feel closest to Him when I'm in the midst of his creation. His handiwork far surpasses that of man.

Maybe those folks living "out there" in the countryside do have it better off. They can walk out their front door, past whatever man made structure they have devised and maybe ignored, and be in instant contact with a renewing, refreshing and revitalizing place that was formed by God.