Satisfied

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I went to Indiana for a wedding and there was no internet available at the house where we were staying. The fireflies were incredible, though. And now I am house-sitting for a friend, and you guessed it, no internet. I'm having to spend more time at coffee houses with free Wi-fi.

when we were in Indiana we had an delightful experience. The wedding was in Middlebury, and the area around there is Amish country. My sister (mother of the groom) arranged for a few of us to take a ride in an Amish buggy. The couple who were to be our hosts are friends of the mother of the bride.

Mose and Etta are humble gracious people who greeted us and welcomed us into their home as if we were old friends of the family. We sat around their kitchen table drinking coffee and talking. Incidentally, the coffee was brewed in a Mr. Coffee machine made to operate on a propane stove rather than by electricity. All the lights in the house were propane fixtures that looked like turbo-charged Coleman lanterns.

When we first sat down, Mose (short for Moses) wanted to relieve any apprehension we might have about discussing their lifestyle, so he said, "now don't be afraid to ask us anything. We'll be glad to answer. You won't offend us."

So, I did. And true to their word, they were open and informative about their life and beliefs. Above all, they were gracious.

I have read quite extensively about the Amish. Most things I have read were pretty accurate about how they lived, but they tended to describe an aloof, legalistic people who are bound by restrictive rules and an overbearing church. I don't know about the Amish in general, but that was far from the case with Mose and Etta. They were warm hosts who laughed easily and made us feel at ease. They describe a simple life that they loved--a life they felt called to. They spoke of a faith that was based on a relationship with Christ not earned by living according to a code.

Most of all, what I sensed from Mose and Etta was two people who were content, satisfied and secure in the life they had chosen. Up until a few weeks before, Mose had work for an RV manufacturer as many of the Amish men in the area do. The present gas prices have crippled the industry. When it appeared layoffs were inevitable, Mose went to his supervisor and said, "before you lay off anyone with a family, lay me off first. We have no bills, we have a good garden. God will care for us and we'll be fine."

I had to ask myself what I would have done. Mose and Etta live simply from day to day. They have no expectations of material goods or a certain standard of living. What God brings them they accept with gratitude. By the time we left I almost wanted to be Amish. Not because it is some kind of romantic lifestyle, but because I envied Mose and Etta's contentment. For all the goods and comforts we have, I have Never met anyone in my culture as content as they were. Their faith and lifestyle was attractive because they didn't just talk about trusting God and being content, they lived it and it seeped out of their very pores.

I wonder how I would affect the people around me if I was like that.