Jacey Verdicchio - A Children's Author

When I was in 3^rd or 4^th grade, I participated in a one day program at Rodgers Ranch in Pleasant Hill, California, which still exists today for 7-11 year olds.  The house and barn, originally built in 1868, are maintained for historical purposes.  The history was probably lost on me, but I had a blast spending a day at the farm churning butter, making ice cream, washing clothes with a washboard and wringer, and making crafts.  All things old-fashioned fascinated me.

My new home of Charleston, one of the most historic cities in America, invites its tourists and residents daily to remember eras of a much different life.  Perhaps being surrounded by centuries-old homes and buildings called to memory my experience at Rodgers Ranch.

In the not so distant past, daily activities necessary for survival and minimal comfort were time consuming.  I find myself feeling put out when my tasks for survival take any time at all - grocery shopping, again?  You can imagine my dismay when I found a significant appliance missing from my 1940‘s apartment.  Mike is now the dishwasher.

Our modern lifestyles afford us the time to apply ourselves to other work.  Most jobs and careers require intellectual and people skills over physical skills.  Our capacity for achievement in our chosen fields is far greater, but we’ve lost some less obvious benefits of daily physical work.  The appreciation and understanding of a process is naturally instilled in people completing a multitude of time consuming steps toward an objective such as cleaning clothes or making butter.

Though we have convenient ways to streamline these processes or avoid them altogether, our mental, emotional, and spiritual lives still depend on processes that require attention over time to show measurable results.  Sometimes we, or maybe it’s just me, expect the same ease and speed to be available in the deeper processes of the heart that we enjoy in our daily physical maintenance.  I don’t think it’s necessarily impatience, but rather a lack of understanding because of how “easy” our lives have become.

God’s Word introduces many processes that are not automatic and that do require applied attention and work over time to show results.  I was reading about putting off the old nature and putting on the new in Colossians 3.  I have become frustrated at times when I noticed old nature thoughts.  Didn’t I already put off anger?  Why am I angry?  Unlike the dishwasher, it is not automatic, and it is not one time.  Putting off and putting on are daily processes.

I certainly don’t plan to forego any of the comforts that make our lives so much more efficient.  No dishwasher is sacrifice enough!  However, I will be more appreciative of the processes needed to achieve measurable growth and improvement when it comes to my spiritual, emotional, and mental life.