Sane, Simple, Sacred: Salt of the Earth

Salt of the Earth

...taken out of my car window a few days ago...

I don't know how well you can see the horses and buggies hitched to the fence in this picture. This is not an uncommon scene as I drive to church on Sunday mornings. After six years of living here, I still am filled with wonder and appreciation as I pass a well-ordered Amish home place. Often children are pushing hand-propelled lawn mowers, women are hanging up laundry, weeds are being meticulously trimmed, gardens teem with healthy produce, and everywhere--neatness.

I frequently slow down to observe farmers in the fields with teams of four, eight, and just last week TWELVE work horses. The sound of buggy wheels and hooves passing on the highway in front of our home is a soothing and reassuring sound to me. I don't even mind slowing down behind an Amish buggy on busy route 37.

Bank parking. Bakery and Post Office in background...

To me, these folk illustrate the verse, "You are the salt of the earth." (Matthew 5:13)

Without a word they flavor MY existence with simplicity, challenge me to industry, and encourage me to slow down!

I wonder how and to whom I am salt...

I pray that I will not lose my saltiness--a possibility I'm warned about in the last part of that verse.

8 comments:

DianaSeptember 22, 2010 at 12:28 PM
Hi Rebecca,
It is a lovely,basic way of life. Lots of hard work too.
We have several Amish farms here too. After eleven years of living in town, I still find it fascinating when a horse and buggy drive down my street. So does my dog Ruby! That is a beautiful photo by the way!
Love Di ♥
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SandySeptember 22, 2010 at 1:18 PM
I love these pictures. I think the Amish
live wonderfully simple and meaningful
lives. Everything seems to be so slow
and relaxed though I know they are hard
workers. One of my dearest friends since
we were young lives in Hagerstown, IN.
and she is always telling me about all
her kind Amish neighbors.
Love & Prayers,
Sandy
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BernieSeptember 22, 2010 at 8:05 PM
I love this post and the love and respect you show for these wonderful people.....they have a compound not to far from here and they are always selling home baked goods at our farmer's market on Friday afternoons......one thing I do know is that they are always impeccable and their food is delicious....that's two things isn't it......big hugs my friend...:-)
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Jacquelyn StagerSeptember 22, 2010 at 9:32 PM
Our nearest Amish communities are about an hour away. We love to go there a couple times a year to shop or eat or just get some good old-fashioned stress relief. I've read a lot of the popular Christian novels that portray Amish life. It does make me sad that they do not teach that one can have the assurance of salvation, though I know many Amish have Mennonite relatives who faithfully witness to them the truth of the Gospel.
But your point about how the Amish can challenge us to live more simply and at the same time to know that work can be it's own reward is a positive influence on any community. I wish we lived closer to them, as I do admire them in many ways.
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Lori ZehrSeptember 22, 2010 at 11:09 PM
I live among the Amish too. My husband's family came from your general area, actually, years ago having settled there after leaving Europe. I have many Amish neighbors and enjoy frequenting their stores because many things needed for the simple life are more readily available because of them--chicken feed, fabric and sewing supplies, lamp oil, bulk baking supplies, etc., etc.
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Janettessage.blogspot.comSeptember 23, 2010 at 9:04 AM
We are not exposed to this at all, but on Thanksgiving we go to a community hidden away off the from the cities and we get to experience their life. I am always blessed...I mean blessed. Their gentleness, the children...what can I say except I am always convicted.
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DeeSeptember 23, 2010 at 5:34 PM
I have also have Amish and Menonite in my area. Very interesting life style's.
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elaine @ peace for the journeySeptember 23, 2010 at 7:26 PM
I lived for seven years in Northern Ohio... an area replete with the Amish. Like you, I never grew weary with admiring them from a distance. A beautiful reminder of simplicity and beauty.

Thanks for this visual!

peace~elaine
PS: I'd better get out to find some pumpkin!!! Who knew?
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"We simplify, not just to be less busy, even though we may be right to pursue that. Rather, we simplify to remove distractions from our pursuit of Christ. We prune activities from our lives, not only to get organized, but also that our devotion to Christ and service for His kingdom will be more fruitful. We simplify, not merely to save time, but to eliminate hindrances to the time we devote to knowing Christ. All the reasons we simplify should eventually lead us to Jesus Christ!" (Donald S. Whitney)

Dedicated to my sister-in-law, Beth--a TRUE home manager....

"I work for a King. He has put me in charge of his home. When He comes to see how I have managed His possessions and His children, I do not want to be found wanting. I want to do my best. Everything I have is on loan from Him. I have room and board and a job to do, but it is all for Him. Therefore I want to dress my best and do my best in all my work. I also want to be creative, for this is a sincere attempt to glorify Him and His beautiful creation. How I manage my home is a form of worship to Him." --Lydia Sherman

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry,
and see a fine picture every day of his life,
in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Contentment makes poor men rich.

-Benjamin Franklin

"What I am gradually discovering is that in the writing I come in touch with the Spirit of God." ~ Nouwen

~~"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting."~~Edmund Burke

C.S. Lewis: "To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in trusting a person if you wouldn't take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him."

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony." William Henry Channing

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Apostle Paul: "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

"It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand. It stops us from taking anything for granted. It has also taught me alot about living in the immediate moment. I am somehow managing to live one day, one hour at a time." Madeleine L'Engle

FIVE CERTAINTIES
WITH WHICH TO
START YOUR DAY

God holds you. Each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 NLT
God sustains you. THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. Psalm 23:1 AMP
God covers you. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust. Psalm 91:4 AMP
God pours His love upon you. Through each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me. Psalm 42:8 NLT
God will not fail you. The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! Lamentations 3:22 NLT

THE BLOGGER'S PRAYER Lord, help me to learn to spell without spellcheck, manage to visit all that visit me, and post regularly - all in 5 minutes a day, so that I can clean house and take care of my family. Help me to not look at every occurrence in my life as a blog post, and to quit taking pictures of weird things to share as well. Please Lord, help me to stop talking about my blog friends as though they are next door neighbors or someone I have known all of my life. And help me, dear Lord, to think of something witty and wise to post tomorrow.
Love, The Dust Bunny Hostage

Sane, Simple, Sacred

Mercy

Salt of the Earth

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Writing a Song a Week #3