A simple pleasure is never far away

Ready to brighten the day In a most ordinary way.

How sad that something

Once a pleasure

No longer seems like such a treasure.

There was a time long past

In Africa.

A young woman walked dusty paths, village to village, with sandaled feet bringing good news to those who never heard the name of Jesus. At day’s end she washed her tired, dirt covered feet in a small tub of rain water. Her head and body prickled with dirt and sweat and she longed for  a cold shower or even a bucket shower, but this would have to do. A simple pleasure.

She felt isolated from her family and friends half a world away. Having no phone, e-mail, or daily mail service, she learned to wait. When the mail bag finally arrived she took her letters to a quiet place. She knew from the handwriting that these were letters from home–from family, friends, and people she had never met. Others never wrote. Nothing special to share was their excuse. They did not understand that everything she read in those letters, even the most mundane to them, connected her to home. After each letter was opened and read, she leaned back in her chair and thanked God for the sender. Her heart was stirred, encouraged and cheered and she was reminded of  the proverb, “Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.” A simple pleasure. Now she rarely thinks about those past pleasures. It’s not that she doesn’t appreciate hot and cold running water at the turn of the faucet, not having to check her shoes for scorpions, and the luxury of phones, email and social networking to keep up with family and friends. Now, perhaps, she has come to expect them.

What are your simple pleasures?