House

There is a type of house known as an “earthship.” Its basic construction includes old tires. Houses like this can be built for amounts varying from a few thousand dollars to several million. With solar panels for electricity, underground cisterns for water, propane for cooking and wood for heating, the homes require no public utilities and are self-sustaining. The best-known in our country, I believe, are just north of Taos, New Mexico.
When I first went to Oletha, east of Waco, in 1951, to become the pastor of the church there, many old frontier homes and barns were still standing. By the time I arrived in the community, most people had modern conveniences, but it had not been many years since living “in the country” was quite different from city life. People drew their water in buckets from wells, or they had cisterns that collected water from their roofs. Radios were rare and television unknown. People cut wood for fuel, and used it for cooking and heating. Kerosene lamps provided light in the dark evening hours. One could be very sure that none of those previous homes cost a million dollars. Most of them were constructed by their owners, and sometimes neighbors would help. No one thought much about being ecologically friendly or “green,” as they say today; they just thought about shelter for the family. Many raised their own food, and all were characterized by self-reliance and independence.
By the time I arrived at Oletha, the main road was being paved, everyone could have electricity if they wanted it, most had pumps on the wells, running water in the house, and septic systems for the indoor bathrooms. Butane and propane provided fuel for heaters in each room if desired, so heat was no longer just in the room with the fireplace.
Oletha, and its neighboring communities, today has modern homes and a few mansions. A big lake has taken the place of the river bottom, and people have moved to their vacation homes or retirement homes in the newly-created resort communities surrounding the lake. Or they may have built a new home near the location of the old one. Natural gas wells dot the area, lignite deposits are everywhere and “life is good.”
When I was pastor in Dallas, the pianist of the church and her husband had a house in the woods of East Texas. It had no electricity, no running water, no indoor bath, etc. They spent as much time there as they could. They loved it. They preferred it to their Dallas home. I guess life is what you want it to be, after all. Our happiness definitely is not based on what we have. If it is to be found, it will be found in the heart.