Learning from the past

I've had a really good day-tiring, but really good. I went to Old Cowtown Museum with some of my kids-the weather was perfect, the crowds were not crowds, the saloon hot dog was pretty good, the cow was protective of her baby, the displays were interesting. I like western lore and culture-and, every once in awhile, I need to be reminded that I'm fortunate that I don't have to wash clothes in a creek on a wash board. Those times seemed simpler, but you know, I don't think they were. The steps one had to go through to do laundry, to cook, and even to get water were physically demanding. Medicine was primitive and life was characterized by hard work and more hard work and more hard work. Every day. You didn't pack up and go on vacation. You stayed home and worked. You helped your neighbors when you could. You enjoyed Sundays as there was not as much work to do, but still, it wasn't a total day of rest. Life was hard and you survived by your own working hands and God's benevolence and mercy. It seemed the music of the church centered on trust, obedience, hard times, and the faith it took to pull through. The old hymn, "Does Jesus Care?" written in 1901, plaintively asks what we today sometimes wonder-four verses of four lines each questioning what happens sometimes in life, and one chorus, 4 lines, to assure the singer that yes, He does. Interesting. A simple faith? Maybe. But as we sit in front of our computers, and TVs, and cook in our microwaves, and drive our cars, we can learn something from these stoic pioneers.