Whatever There Is To Be Done...

You know how you keep something for 20 years, almost never use it, and then finally decide to give or throw it away--and then the next week you truly need it?

Well, guess what?

I became a bit too ruthless in my great Book-Sorting-For-The-Big-Move-Someday and I gave away Ann Kiemel's book, It's Incredible. Inside that book there's something which 'changed my life' (according to some blogs, that's not possible, but well, you know what I mean).

It went something like this: Ann went to interview a 72-year-old woman, an artist, and found her doing some landscaping in her backyard. Lifting big rocks, to be exact. The woman told her that she loved to garden and when Ann asked her what was her favorite thing in Life, the woman replied, "Manure. Because everything grows so well in it."

And then Ann asked the woman what kinds of things she disliked, as in chores like washing dishes, vacuuming or making beds.

The elderly woman frowned. "Dislike? Whatever there is to be done--I like it!"

Oh my. I read that while a young mother in my 20's and wham! That one sentence stung me. Back then, I could have given you a yardstick-long list of all the things I disliked doing.

But after reading that one page in Ann's book? Immediately I wanted to be like that artist--not just when I reached my 70's, either--but starting immediately.

Be careful what you desire.

In the 20 years since that day, that one desire has taken me on a mighty long adventure of having to let God change my attitude about housework, errands and everything else known as 'work'. 

Needing to stop complaining about them which only yanks me backward and also, learning to search and pull out every speck of Good in simple, daily things.

But it's been worth it. Since 90% of my life is made up of Everyday Stuff, I'm nearly to where I, also, can say, "Whatever there is to to be done-- I like it!"

Well, almost.

And I've found that, for me, there's no better, richer way to live.


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"So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work..." ... Ecclesiastes 3:22


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