everyday adventures Missing Mayberry We can learn about our relationship with God from Andy Grif¿th Celebrity deaths are weird to me. It just seems strange how connected we can feel to people we’ve never met and mourn their loss like someone from our own family. For example, this summer, when Andy Gri th died, I was seriously bummed. It was like losing a grandpa. Part of it, I guess, is that given how much TV I watched as a kid, I probably spent more time with Andy than with some of my real family members. Sad, but true. But I think with Andy, something unique was going on. It wasn’t just me. When Andy passed away, fan reactions Áooded the internet. Fan videos, photos and tributes popped up everywhere. My favorite was a picture I saw on Facebook that said, “Our world needs more Mayberry, less Jersey Shore.” That one pretty much says it all. Andy reminds us of something we’ve all lost but don’t know how to reclaim. That’s because Andy represents something bigger than a TV character. He represents the Mayberry Myth, the possibility that somewhere out there is a place where life isn’t so complicated and harsh. In Mayberry, relationships matter more than accomplishments, contentment beats out materialism and simplicity trumps sophistication every time. We live in a dark and cynical world, but something deep down tells us it’s not supposed to be this way, and that maybe somewhere, once upon a time, it wasn’t. Mayberry is that once upon a time, that idyllic hometown we all long for in the confusion of 21st century life. The funny thing, though, is that even in Mayberry they were longing for Mayberry. In a 1996 interview with Matt Lauer, Andy Grith said that even though the show was Àlmed in the sixties, they were trying to create a town that felt more like the thirties. He said, “Even when we were Àlming the show, Mayberry was already a time gone by.” A time gone by. The good old days. Sweet innocence that’s been lost. The Bible calls this place Eden, a perfect world of goodness and simplicity where people hung out with God like old friends sitting around on a front porch. Andy reminds us of something we’ve all lost but don’t know how to reclaim. In Eden decency and honesty ruled the day, and the world was exactly as it was meant to be. But mankind walked away from all that. We turned our back on all that was good, and now, like Mayberry refugees who ran o to the big city, we’re all homesick for the place we know we belong. A time gone by. But maybe also, it’s a time yet to come. Mayberry may be a myth, but the things in it that we yearn for are certainly real. They were real in Eden. They’ll be real in heaven, and to some degree, they’re available to us as we grow closer to God in the here and now. So maybe it’s time to let our nostalgia lead us home to the place where we will always Ànd belonging, relationship and peace and a Father who wants to help us discover our heart’s true hometown. The opening credits of the Andy Grith Show remind me of this kind of intimacy with God, a snapshot of a perfect relationship between a father and his child. I don’t know if God has an old dirt road or a Àshing hole, but I know He longs for each of us to walk with Him with that same kind of innocent wonder. • Jason Byerly is a writer, pastor, husband and dad who loves the quirky surprises God sends his way every day. He believes life is much funnier and way cooler than most of us take time to notice. You can catch up with Jason on his blog at www.jasonbyerly.com or follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jasondbyerly. September/October <strong>2012</strong> • 50
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