Working Hard

I'm beginning to discover that when it comes to working, and working hard, I have a lot of the same mindset of my Papa. I suppose I learned from him these past 22 years. This past weekend was a vicious one. I spent about 13 hours outside in Florida's brutal summer sunshine working first at a car wash, and then at a friend's house doing landscaping work. Pulling weeds and planting flowers can be therapeutic, but I think that I would prefer it in cooler, more shady climates. My back and shoulders, now bronzed to their deepest shade, would prefer it also.

But once I finished my grueling 13 hours of outdoor labor, did I come home, draw a nice hot bath, and watch a movie that night? Not hardly. This is where the Mr. Dennen in me steps in. What better to do after a day of hard work, then work some more? Thus I proceeded to change my bike tire (which had become flat as I was riding home from my friend's house), do my laundry, clean the bathroom literally from the top to the bottom (I would have paid you to try and find a speck of dust after I finished), and... oh I don't even remember anymore. But the point being that it was about 11pm or later by the time I actually stopped working.

My Papa is just like that. He comes home after a long day at work and he works. He helps someone with some physical labor for several hours and he comes home to mow the lawn, edge the lawn, fertilize the lawn.... etc. etc. I've often thought to myself that he doesn't know when to quit, but now I see that I have some of that exact same tendency in my own makeup! While you're on a roll, why not just keep going?

I'm tired though, and although my list of things to do is not getting any shorter, I am realizing that I need to rest. Intentionally. For a long(ish) period of time. I've been working really hard for 2 months and I am wearing myself thin. My eyes are on the never-ending list of "Do's" and not on the Lord. I need to have His face fully centered in my view or else I will burn out without so much as a consideration of the Lord.

I don't want to work hard and having nothing to show for it on the Day my Lord comes back for me.