Of late, I have been watching videos describing the life of coal miners in Appalachia. It’s a secluded and isolated way of life. Some families lived in a “holler,” meaning “at the end of a road.” It is a simple, rugged life with its drawbacks. 

But the people also possess the tools and skills needed to survive, even in a catastrophe. They live off the land’s produce. Reliance on relationships with other families in similar situations is a core value. Their life reminded me of what I admire about my grandparents and parents’ era of the 1920s—1930s.

Our parents didn’t have much, but they could build homes, fix vehicles, plant gardens, raise animals, hunt for food, and create a home-cooked meal practically out of nothing. I would love to have more of their wisdom and practical skills!

We are strengthened by our relationships with family and friends, both spiritually and physically. We need each other far more than we realize. If we don’t know that now, all it takes is a difficulty, an emergency, or a catastrophic event, and life gets raw and in-your-face.

Like Paul, whether we have what the world considers success or we have very little, the true meaning and purpose of life, the need for safety and security and justice, doesn’t come from earthly possessions, achievements, and elevated educational status, or lack thereof. It comes from our connection with the Father. And it is lived out in our connection with family and friends.

We can walk in the light of God’s presence all day long, because our spirit hears the call to worship Him. And we are drawn by the joy we experience in His wonderful reputation of always being just and right (see Psalm 89:15-16).

He is our Joy, even when life is unjust, even when we seem to be at a disadvantage, even when we find ourselves in a rough, isolated “holler” at the end of the road.