Jennifer and I headed out to the front yard shortly after 10am to do a little bit. She was going to do a small bit of yard work, and I was taking the trash to the dumpster. Both of us were tired from another full week, but we were together and that was good. I transported 10 bags of pine bark in my truck for her to mulch around a pair of small bushes in the front yard and around a telephone poll which needed another 10.
She raked up the magnolia tree leaves and those little 'cone-like' objects that they leave behind. Chuckling she said that this was done more for her safety than anything else. You see, we walk through that area each Wednesday as we go over for the fellowship dinner and band practice. Neither of us want to trip over those cones, so they had to go!
By this point it was getting to be lunch time. So I called Emma and she took care of us.
After stopping for lunch we looked out at a large area to the right of the house and driveway. It needed a lot of attention. There were weeds everywhere. Sighing we decided to mulch that too. We wanted the manse to be ready for Homecoming and look its best too!
A little more than three hours later the final bag of mulch was spread. This was a tremendous task that required a lot of work from us both. We were tired, thirsty, worn out, dirty, and just plain ready for a hot shower and some rest. But we stood there for a few moments to admire the yard and we realized who gave us the strength--God. And we did it together.
Limping back into the house because of my knee swelling up, I worked to get my shoes off. Having spent a lot of time hiking when I was young with the Boy Scouts I knew that my feet would swell quickly because of how active I had been. Once those shoes hit the floor I was done. I knew my feet would hurt and the pain would travel up to my swollen, and quite warm, knee. So I pressed on and left the shoes in place. . .
Jennifer took the girls out to the yard and I began to prepare drinks and a light snack for us. We still had more work to do for Homecoming and we couldn't stop yet. We were together with God in this work and it would be finished.
Shortly after 10pm we finished the last task on our list. Food cooked for the morning and placed in the fridge to keep it fresh. The yard was cleaned up. We sat back and noticed how much soreness and pain we felt. Yet again, we said, it was better because we were together in this. . . Not just in how we suffered but in how we worked, we did so as a unit and we did so with God.
And today I can tell you that this fact mattered for us.
This union and community helped Jennifer and I finish the work with a good spirit in our hearts and determination in our steps. Partnering up has that effect on people. When we work as a unit consistently we find greater things being accomplished than we first believed was possible.
I don't have any idea how we finished spreading so much mulch. I would have told you that it was impossible if you asked me at 10am on Saturday. But because I did not do it alone, because I had encouragement and support all along the way, something powerful happened at the Manse. This same thing can happen when we partner with the Lord.
God takes us to places that we did not think were possible initially. He gently leads us onward and outward to change and remake this world into His image. As we work, God slips us a little bit more strength that we thought we had because we are serving Him as faithfully as we can.
I wonder toady where could you find a place to partner with God? It matters that you serve God because you do so together--God with you and you with God.
Blessings
Rev. Derek
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