A "Simpler" Time

I have recently--as in last night and all this morning--become obsessed with the show Downton Abbey. The show takes place in the early 1900s, where the women still wear dresses every day and the wealthy have servants to handle everything for them. Upon hearing the first conversation on the show, I fell in love with the character's English accents and "simple" way of life. Each servant seemed happy to work for the family; the family seemed to have their lives all buttoned up; everything seemed so easy. The wealthy women didn't have to work or go to school and the men respected the women in an old-time, chivalrous way. Electricity had just been invented and they claimed the glare from the lights were too much to get used to. I was jealous, wishing I had lived in that time. It all seemed so much simpler: no computers, cell phones, or social media sites to keep up with.

As I continued to watch though, I realized that the servants' and the family's lives were anything but simple. The servants don't have a say in everything they do and the family had 3 daughters with no close male cousins, since in that time women couldn't inherit their father's estate. Each character, both servant and wealthy, has some sort of inner qualm. They are happy on the outside, but fighting their own battles on the inside. They are striving for a wonderful, but seem to fall short. It's made me realize that no matter the technological advances, people haven't changed. We have and will all go through our own trials and tribulations at times and finding the strength to move on is never going to be easy. Actually standing up and walking again after you've fallen, though, is the key to the advances that we have in this modern age.

Life is never going to be a walk in the park. Issues, stressful times, and uncertainty will always be thrown at us. Yet, choosing to live a happy life, a life of hope and faith, will help to get us through the difficult times. Remembering that all sin is equal in the eyes of the Lord and that no one's problems are greater that your own is not only humbling, but will help to open your eyes and heart to the needs of others. It will allow you to serve and love others as Christ did. It will make you happier and healthier, and who doesn't want that?