Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in the Country

I grew up in the country. I probably didn’t realize how “country” it was until later in life.

We had seven acres of land. A large pasture with woods in the back along with a spring-fed pond. We raised cows…chickens…and rabbits…and ate lots of good beef, fresh eggs, and fried rabbit (which tastes a lot like chicken by the way).

Summer days were often filled with exploring nature…feeding flies to spiders…feeding ants to ant lions…building tunnels in the steep sand banks of the pond…hanging out in the treehouse…and having cow patty fights with friends.

I think that qualifies as country.

We knew everyone in our small town. I sat between the same two people all the way through elementary school. Edwards…Foster…Freeman.

Fridays nights were high school football nights. Sunday mornings were church days…along with Sunday nights and Wednesday nights.

Whenever I come back home, I realize the simplicity of growing up in a small town. We didn’t have a lot but we also didn’t know we were missing out on anything. We traveled up to the big city of Jacksonville every once in awhile. I remember when the town closest to us (Orange Park) actually got a mall. But I still found my greatest joy and contentment at home…enjoying time with my family…exploring the backyard…hanging out with friends.

Now here I am forty years later. Sitting in my parents’ house…walking the same country roads…reflecting on life.

Many things have changed…but many things have remained the same.

I have lived in cities from New Orleans to Dallas to the New York City corridor of central New Jersey yet there is something unique about living in the country…something to be learned.

Here are five New Year’s lessons you can learn from the country:

Slow down!

Your quality of life is not increased by increasing your pace.

Somehow we have accepted the notion that a faster life is a better life. Squeeze more stuff in. Run. Run. Run. Get everywhere quicker. Pack your life with activities. Do more. Get more. Go more. It is almost as if we want to stay moving so that we don’t have to stop and think about the emptiness of what we have…of who we are…of what we are becoming.

The country teaches you to slow down…to notice more around you…and to get used to being stuck behind a tractor on a two-lane road.

Make the most of what you have.

My parents do not waste anything. Everything is recycled. They were “green” before green was cool. My dad made a fence out of discarded pipe…a shed out of old shipping pallets…a greenhouse out of the plastic wrapped around his new mattress. He waters his plants with rainwater. He fertilizes with coffee grounds. He even used to carefully cut open and fold up the wrapping paper on his Christmas gifts and ask my mom to save it for next year…though my mom would usually throw it away when he wasn’t looking.

When you are in the country, everything has value. You don’t worry about what you don’t have but instead you make the most of what you do have. In a disposable society…where even relationships and people are too easily discarded…that is a good lesson to learn.

Know how to survive.

Hank Williams Jr. wasn’t lying…a country boy does know how to survive. If our economic infrastructure were to completely collapse, I would want to move back to the country. My parents know how to survive. My dad can grow his own food…catch his own food…kill his own food. He has a pond with a spring…a well with his own water. He lives simply. He knows his land. And he has a shotgun…actually several shotguns. It’s ironic that the people who are often looked down on are probably the only ones who would survive in a disaster…and the ones who would probably rescue a few people along the way.

So don’t worry about your circumstances…or about what people think…just keep moving forward…finding a way to survive…and helping others who don’t know any better.

Make family a priority.

When I come home, I am reminded of the importance of family. My parents are still going strong…celebrating over sixty years of marriage. My brothers and sisters still get together for family events. The house is packed. Laughter is everywhere.

We have our issues. As a family grows…as the generations increase…there are differences that emerge. Different opinions…different politics…different perspectives on life. But something keeps bringing us all together.

Blood is thicker than water.

The crowded city often contains the loneliest people. The faster you go…the further you go…the more often you leave your relationships behind…and the more often you feel an inner longing for home.

Don’t ignore that longing. It is a reminder that life is too short to shortchange your relationships.

Remember that God is God.

There is something about living in the “big city”…climbing the academic ladder…the economic ladder…the social ladder…that has a way of feeding your pride. You have a tendency to feel more advanced…more educated…more superior.

The elitist mentality grows in the city not the country.

And with elitism comes the sense that you no longer need God. God is for “simpler people”…for those who don’t know any better…for those who haven’t learned science yet.

But elitism is an illusion. No person is better than any other. No person has life all figured out. No person has death conquered. No person has control over the universe.

A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. (C. S. Lewis)

Perhaps it is the simpler life…the life more connected to nature…more connected to family…more connected to a church community…that enables a person to see their dependency on God.

Things aren’t perfect in the country. The sins of the human heart live both in the city and on the farm. But when you need a little perspective, take a trip into the country and remember that…

Every thing you have is a gift.

Nothing should be taken for granted.

Life is worth living.

Relationships are worth treasuring.

God is worth worshiping.

Pride is a lie.

Humility is a virtue.

Thanksgiving is a must.

And even when everything around you stinks, you can still choose to have a cow patty fight.