Written by Van Yandell
Romans 12: 2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Those were the “good old days.” How many times have we heard that said? Some say about the good old days, “they are over.” Being in the past is not always bad but to hold on to the past usually is.
Looking forward is always a good practice because looking back is usually counterproductive and accomplishes nothing. Life is about the future and not the past.
There are many times in our lives when we have to move on allowing time to heal the wounds or situations. At other times we have to work around people. Many of us have found the best solution is to give it to God and let Him take care of it.
We cannot erase history and do not want to. We learn too much from our mistakes. To remember the past is not to dwell on it and torment ourselves. We may take note; God put our eyes on the front of our heads for a reason.
One past situation actually brought back good memories. In college, my third year, I had a Volkswagon. It was tough as nails and got me most everywhere I needed to go.
It was transportation between home and college. It was used for a hunting vehicle. The roof made a fantastic bench rest for my .220 Swift with a twenty power Unertl target scope. It got me to the church (almost on time) when Margie and I were married at 7:30 p.m. The wedding was scheduled for seven but “somebody” forgot the license.
The VW negotiated snow better than some four-wheel-drives and got thirty miles per gallon. Gas was thirty cents per gallon then. Fifty cents worth of gas in the tank provided an afternoon of running around.
One item hauled around in the back of the VW was a cardboard box. That box was used to haul clothes when going home on weekends and returned to college on Sunday nights. Being one of the less fortunate students back in those days I had to go home on the weekends to work in order to pay expenses. Come to think of it, many students did fall into that category.
Mother laundered my clothes. She was of the “old school” and would not have even thought of paying to have shirts and pants ironed.
That cardboard box from nearly sixty years ago is an unforgettable vision. By February my junior year, it was mostly worn out and had to be taped together.
After graduation, Margie and I lived in a very small house we bought for $5,500. It was small, the plumbing had to be unthawed several times each winter and the back porch was far from new. We lived on a shoestring budget eating lots of soup beans and cornbread.
Our luxury meal was a twenty-five cent pot pie. Meat was out of the question those early years. To go in debt to have anything went against our raising. In those days young people were taught, if you don’t have the cash, don’t buy it. Thus, most did not spend our entire lives working for a lending agency.
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus said, “Give us this day our daily bread, (Matthew 6: 11). Notice He did not ask for a filet mignon with salad and chocolate mousse for dessert. The simplicity of His request unequivocally tells us we need sustenance, not fanciful and extravagant dinners.
Life was good. Church was an important part of our lives and everything seemed a lot simpler then. Essentially, life was unpretentious. Those things such as work and continuing education had to be, and we accepted that as a given and moved on.
This article may be titled “Soup beans and a cardboard box” to remind myself of how fortunate I am to have lived life in the “hard times.” We didn’t know those were hard times. We were as happy as we could be doing what had to be done. No one ever thought of not working. Everyone worked and anyone not physically able to be gainfully employed was given help by their neighbors. Garden vegetables and even fully cooked meals magically appeared on their tables.
There were no disagreements in churches over which version of the Bible to use or what kind of music to sing. We didn’t have time to argue over the trivial.
Preachers preached the Bible and an occasional “hell fire and damnation sermon” got people’s attention. There were few tithing sermons because we all knew by the Bible teaching from the pulpits God expected us to give back a part of what He had given us and we wanted to give both our time and money (2Corinthians 9: 7).
Churches didn’t have money problems because funds were too tight to waste them. Frugality in the church was just as important as in the home. Ends had to meet and no one had the luxury of being a big spender at home or in church.
Life wasn’t tough but it was different. Maybe those really were the good old days. Another characteristic that existed then was the consistency of the Gospel message. Very few questioned the validity of the Bible teachings. Christ Jesus crucified for the remission of sin and resurrected was accepted as absolute fact.
The church and the local school were the focal point of many towns. The two often worked hand-in-hand to accomplish goals for the children and youth; thus families.
There were no late night comedians making fun of church and church people. Respect was flourishing and if anyone showed disrespect, they were quickly reprimanded, especially children. Comedy was light and not hurtful or insulting.
Maybe those were the good old days. If we had problems we worked them out without drugs, guns or violence. This not to say there were no disagreements. They were usually solved peacefully and without people becoming angry or leaving the church.
John 3: 16 was simply the way it was. For anyone knowing just one Bible verse, it was that one verse that condensed the entire Bible into one sentence.
We didn’t have wifi, instant news from all over the world or satellite communications and GPS. What we had was time for each other. Love meant a lifetime commitment. We didn’t see people with their noses buried in their phones and the word “personality” actually had meaning.
My cardboard box became a symbol of my status. My aunt tried to buy me a nice suitcase but it didn’t fit my persona.
I still like soup beans and cornbread occasionally. And when I see a cardboard box full of old clothes, I’m reminded of who I am. What’s more important is to be reminded of Whose I am.