The Merriam-Webster dictionary online offers several definitions for the word simplicity: the state of being simple, uncomplicated or uncompounded; freedom from pretense or guile; directness of expression; and restraint in ornamentation.
Last weekend was my friend Chris’s 55 birthday. ”Double nickels” was what she called it. Chris works a high-pressure job and while she has many great things in her life there is nothing that she enjoys more than a weekend at her family’s camp with the girls. So for her birthday “the girls”……me, Deb and Janice….took her to camp. We ate, talked, laughed and sat on the porch all weekend. We even went “mudding.” She had a great time and declared it the best birthday ever.
Now I have to be honest. Camp was something I never thought I would enjoy. They had to beg me to go last year when I first moved back from Pittsburgh. Don’t get me wrong, the way we camp is not completely primitive. When my brother Cliff camps, he carries 40 pounds of gear around for ten miles, pitches a tent, lights a fire, and eats things from a can that I’m pretty sure are fairly nutritious, but would not be my first food choice.
So, yes, we sleep in a building, in real beds, and we cook on a gas stove or grill. But we are without electricity and running water, and I have learned to clean myself up in the morning with a 32 ounce bottle of water. I can live without a blow dryer and eyeliner. I even use the outhouse and don’t really mind it, even at 3am when I have to make my nightly trek with a flashlight, because I’m forty-seven and can’t make it through the night without a bathroom run.
The simplistic nature of it is what makes it so wonderful.
The simplicity of the surroundings….the woods, the sounds of the night, the lack of modern conveniences, no cell phones, no televisions, and no internet.
The simplicity of the wonderful food that we eat………fresh, from scratch, homemade…….steaks on the grill, salads with homemade croutons, camp breakfast and camp coffee.
The simplicity of the friendships that the four of us have……..uncomplicated. We are four very unique individuals and are different in may ways. But the one thing that we all have in common is that we all are exactly what we appear to be. There is no pretense and no game playing. We don’t try to mold each other into what we, ourselves, are. We offer sound advice, without trying to control each other. We love and accept each other for our individual personalities, strengths and weaknesses. I am thankful for each of these women and pray that our friendship carries on for many years to come.
I will close by saying that I believe simplicity to be a biblical concept. We are told in Matthew 6 to store up treasures for ourselves in heaven, and not on this earth. That is not to say I abhor all material possessions or that I will live a life of solitude without family and friends. I still love my Ipod Touch and my Krups coffee maker. My friends are my greatest earthly treasures. But the less encumbered we are by the things of the world the more we are able to serve God in His Kingdom. When we are bogged down by material possessions, and the cost they incur, we are less able to focus on Christ. When we allow ourselves to be trapped in unhealthy relationships, we focus on the negativity that is inevitably involved with them.
Weekends at camp have taught me the peace that simplicity brings. May there be many more.
Deb, Chris, and Janice….at the lookout on Beech Creek Mountain….oh and Janice’s dog, Harley, although with that attitude, I think he missed his calling as a cat.=)
