Small Towns

Brenda and I have spent nearly our entire married life in small towns. We like small towns. You drive down the road and see people you know. People wave. Casual conversations Ball games are more like reunions of family and friends. People sit in familiar territories surrounded by the same people.

Small towns have cafes. Cafes have a whole different feel than an upscale restaurant. The wait staff know your name and what you like to eat and drink. Cafes have a daily special. Today the special is the Mexican plate. Monday the special is meatloaf. The same men come to the coffee table every morning. Deep friendships have lasted for decades. Sitting across the cafe are men who went to grade school together and have remained friends for decades into their seventies.

In small towns people go to church together and stick together through thick and then. They have seen preachers come and go. They have seen their respective congregations through thick and thin. They have endured controversies, division and maybe even a church split or two.

In small towns the pace of life is slower. I spent a good deal of time driving the past week in the big city metroplex. I hated it. Bumper to bumper traffic did not do much for my walk with the Lord. Everything and everyone seemed to be in a hurry. I felt anxious. In a small town I can drive leisurely down the back roads. I can enjoy open country. I see the stars at night and awoke this morning to birds chirping outside my window. It is not uncommon to see deer strolling.

In small towns relationships often go deep and loyalty remains. I have seen small towns rally around the sick and suffering in small towns. For the most part people care. I thank God for small towns. I thank God for churches in small town. I also thank God in His sovereignty He has seem fit to set my entire ministry in the context of a small town.