by Tim Hall

A recent issue of U.S. News & World Report carried an article noting a new trend in America: More homeowners are developing outdoor living areas ("Walls Are So Passe", 5/19/03). We've long had decks and patios, places in which to enjoy a weekend barbecue or to watch the fireflies on a summer's evening. But this trend is something more than that; much more.

The new trends in outdoor living areas go beyond the traditional gas grill to include stainless steel cooking centers, refrigerators and bars. Comfortable (and expensive) furniture has replaced lawn chairs and canvas stools. One designer, justifying the expense incurred by some, explained that many had grown tired of "cocooning" and wanted to escape to a larger and freer environment.

I can understand that concept. I'm not planning to invest in the pricey furnishings you'll see on the Home and Garden Network, but I'm all for breaking free of our cocoons. There are many benefits to be realized from such regular escapes.

Ours is a society that has gone indoors. With the advent of television and air conditioning, millions vacated their front porches for the family den. Instead of gazing at the stars in the sky, we now gaze at the stars on cable. Flickering fireflies go unnoticed because of the flickering blue light that fills most homes. In all of this we've lost something valuable!

Coming out of one's cocoon to contemplate the glories of nature pays large dividends. David, for example, wrote of his reflections: "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained - What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?" (Psalm 8:3,4, New King James Version) By taking time to meditate beneath a nighttime sky, David's thoughts were lifted higher. He realized some things about God and about himself that we all need to know.

In another place David wrote, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard" (Psalm 19:1-3). Plop me down in the middle of another continent and I'll probably not understand the language of the native people. But if I look upward into the sky, I'll find a language anyone can understand!

Inside our cocoons, we forget that Someone greater is out there. We begin believing that man is the measure of all things, totally and completely self-sufficient. But when we struggle free of our cocoons, we realize there is Someone whose thoughts are higher than ours, and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). We are awakened to a reality to which we have previously been oblivious.

Maybe it's time to follow a trend and come out of our cocoons. There is a whole other world beyond Hollywood, and it offers so much more!