“I’m happy.”
The old man says as he and his wife sit under a small shrub blocking the sun while they strip corn off the cob outside their mud and thatch hut.
Their house consists of nothing but a concrete bench rounding the perimeter, plates mounted on the mud shelf wall and a hole in the center of the floor for cooking. Corn and bean fields surround the house and local huts like it in the tiny farming community they live in. Chickens run here and there, corn scattered everywhere drying out under the sun, the air is silent and modern civilization seems to be inexistent.
We took a long bumpy van ride through a washed out, pot holed road to walk through the farm villages, greet the locals, meet them in their element and spread the word of God. Little did we know that same ride which took us at least 40 minutes is walked almost every day by at least half the family- be it children for school or parents to fetch water or go into town for the market.
They have no vacation. No air conditioning. No retirement fund or even a grand savings account. No scheduled pay checks to rely and plan off of. Clothes sun bleached, patched and re-patched and most shoes stitched back together to last another 2 years past what any shoe could. They have only a tiny solar panel for electricity while the rest of their day is built from and determined by the rise and fall of the sun. Life is consistent for the most part, especially with farming. It’s basic. Slow. And can’t be ignored or turned away from without consequences.
Yet in the midst of all this he and his wife seemed perfectly content as they sit stripping corn.
We originally went there to preach a short message which Kody did when we arrived. But it was with this couple that I noticed, we can bring God’s word to them but dare we not be the ones to bring life advice. If anything, they should be the ones preaching to us in this regard! Their lives are built upon nothing more than the ‘simple bear necessities’. Their hearts are unaltered by anything out of the basic steps of life and most of all, intentionally reliant on Christ and God’s mercies and guidance.
So I asked them, “You have experienced far more life than me. You have walked in faith over three times longer than I have and done it with a fraction of what I have ever owned or experienced. What advice do you give me regarding life, future and how to approach it?”
His response,
“I’m Happy”
Now imagine this man, and the families he raised in these circumstances. Think past just what it would be like to visit it or live it for a mere week or month. Think of what happens in life and imagine them happening in these circumstances…
Now imagine after 80 years of living this way answering that very question with a genuine smile and saying, “I’m Happy.”
From what I’ve seen, this could only be done while drawing life from Christ. Nothing else can be responsible for this man and this countries Joy and Strength I’ve witnessed and fallen for.
I’m re-ordering my priorities and perspective; Where are yours?
