Back to the Walton’s

I frequently watch the 1980’s family show called the “The Walton’s”. It was considered to be one of great “family” shows on tv for its time.  It was the story of one man’s journey through the depression living with his family in the blue ridge mountains of west virginia.

Earl Hamner Jr focuses on his experiences of himself and for individual members of his family during this time. Their is an overwhelming theme in this show for over nine seassons that the bare necessities and family that will carry them thru all the bad and good times.

I have often pondered this scenario in these days of ours. How would we personally feel for just having the basics of life,day after day, with no sight of anything more of life. My gut feeling is that most of us would go crazy in this scene.  Which means that we are so pampered in our lives that we have forgotten the aspects of what it means to live?

The meaning of “live” is “to maintain oneself”. How many people today just do this? How many people maintain themselves to the fullest? to the extreme?

I want to point out at this time, that this is where we as humanity show our true colors of our inward being. Let me also point out also, that this is also true of us christians!

This point leads us to the tell tale signature of ourselves that it is us and us alone that can change people or things in our world. We do not need anything or anyone else to have an influence on us. I have been struggling with an chicken and egg scenario upon this situation.

Here it is, Is it the circumstance of being in just the necessities of live that we depend on God or is it God’s life in ours that makes us be just the basics?

I tend to lean toward the latter statement because it is not necessarily because of being basic in our being, but because of Jesus Christ in us, is that we have not wants. We are content. Philipians 4:11, and 1 Timothy 6:6-8- “There is great gain in godliness with contentment: for we brought nothing into the world,and we cannot take anything out of the world: but if we have food and clothing,with these we shall be content.” I really like these verses, they put an exlaimation point on the phrase “less of me, and more of Him”

Now back to the walton’s, our society has migrated away from the concept of the 3 or 4 generational home in america for most part, we have gone to the more prevalent, LOOK, see how BIG MY HOUSE IS! I did it all by myself. It was all me. This has really been sad to see,especially in america.

I wonder how many lost opportunities I  have lost out on the wisdom of Grandpa McCall and Grandma McCall at the supper table telling us their experiences of failure and success of life! Their support  for my parents, for me, my kids, and my grandchildren could not be measured in words or money! Where has this gone? Why don’t we bring it back?

Have we thought about changing this situation of having family grouping in one household? Got a extra 1 or 2 bedrooms open, bring in a sister or a mother or a elder in your family.

I have noticed in this show that it wasn’t about the women in the kitchen fixing supper every nite, that was ritual, it was the closeness that it brought the family of women from generation to generation. We wonder why we are lost out on our own when we have lost that wisdom from the previous generation.

Our contentment of “live” is knowing that Jesus Christ is our “Life”. and their is a Huge difference in these Words!