Opening my eyes
By Jessica Brodie
Have you ever gotten to experience another culture in a way that opened your mind to new possibilities and important spiritual truths?
I love to travel. It’s not about the activities or the scenery so much as the chance to experience new ways of life. Sometimes it’s another city in my own state, and other times it’s a totally different country half a world away. Ten years ago I had the opportunity to travel to Zimbabwe on a mission trip, and I learned so many fascinating things about the people and about myself on that trip. Likewise, last month I had the opportunity to travel to Wooster, Ohio, for my husband‘s grandfather‘s funeral. I’d been there twice before and loved going to the Amish villages nearby, and on this trip we made a point to stop by a local Amish farm on our way home.
Now, obviously I understand touring houses, taking a ride in an Amish buggy, and sampling some amazing freshly baked bread isn’t exactly immersing myself in the culture authentically. The Amish way of life is far more than a day-trip.
But taking the time to open my eyes to the Amish lifestyle and start to understand a bit more about why they live the way they do, particularly the orthodox Amish, was fascinating, and it left me with a deep appreciation of that way of life.
For instance, while today some Amish families are more progressive and embrace electricity and running water, orthodox Amish people typically do not. As it’s been explained to me, electricity and running water are worldly modern conveniences, and they strive not to be of this world. They strive to live in a way that focuses on the Lord. Doing without modern conveniences is a way of sacrificing and drawing closer to their creator. It is embracing the natural way that God created this earth.
While I personally use electricity and running water and consider them to be gifts from God—gifts God helped other people invent or discover—I think it’s important to respect that other people might not look at it this way. It might be part of their Christian walk to forgo these things, and seeing people remain obedient to their faith is a beautiful thing.
Then there’s the notion of their churches, which meet not in a separate designated building but in their members’ own homes. Every other week, they take turns hosting worship. All the furniture is cleared out to make room for the service, and neighbors pitch in preparing food for guests to eat and share.
I admire this. Even though I love my church community, there’s something truly intimate about inviting other people into your own personal space. It reminds me a lot of the first-century church and how the early Christians tried to live in full community with each other, sharing homes and food and wealth among all. During the pandemic, we often hosted Bible studies at our house, and I think we need to continue doing this sort of this. Confining corporate worship and Bible study just to one place, a specific church building, feels stifling to me.
And then there is the whole concept of the horses and buggies. While some Amish, the more progressive, are fine with motorized vehicles, others choose only non-mechanized forms of travel, particularly walking or horseback riding. Much like their reasons for doing without electricity and running water, this is an effort to live in a more natural way in line with the Lord. It takes a lot longer to travel places when you’re on foot or on horseback. It takes a lot longer to do farm work and other things, too.
This is something we would do well to appreciate. In our fast-paced society today, we get impatient with a 30-minute air-conditioned commute to work or the time it takes leftovers to reheat in the microwave. Sometimes I catch myself growing impatient when my smartphone doesn’t bring up directions quickly enough… and then I remember that not so long ago I didn’t even have a smartphone, let alone the technology to do this.
I’m not saying I want to become Amish, though there’s something so pure and beautiful about that lifestyle that appeals to me. But I will say my time there opened my eyes to the modern conveniences I very often take for granted.
And that night, as I flipped on the kitchen light to wash my hands in warm water that came running from the faucet, I was grateful anew.
May that spirit of gratitude and appreciation stay with me. May it stay with us all.
How about you? Is there something in your life you have been taking for granted? Let’s all think about that this week.
