I
have a friend who’s spent many years as a missionary in Africa. She bakes her
own bread, and occasionally experiences infestations of grain moths. When these
critters find their way into her flour supply, she can’t just dash to the
corner grocery, so in order to provide food for her family; she painstakingly
removes the moths one by one. Although, she loves God, enjoys where she lives, and is committed to her call
to missions, this is a part of the deal that's not very appealing.
For
some time now, I’ve been sifting through a three hundred page manuscript
plucking out bugs which some call “weasel words.” Among them, just,
so, really, only, and that. Words, which often add nothing to the meaning of a
sentence, but simply weigh it down. Words, I am sorry to tell you, I apparently
love to use in abundance.
If only I could just tell you how much I really
love using words that mean so much to me.
If
only.
Important
task--this buggy word removal. However, after days of this, my eyes become
glassy, and my brain feels like mush.
I
want to run.
I
want to quit.
I want to get a job repairing transmissions.
I
suppose no matter what the Lord may call us to, there’s always a down
side.
So,
how do we face the tedious tasks without bolting?
A
few suggestions:
Small
Chunks. What works best for me is combining the tedious with the creative.
Breaking up the times I spend on unappealing tasks with other more creative
endeavors.
Staying
balanced. I know in part why I’m out of sorts right now. I haven’t been taking time to exercise as I should. It never pays to skip taking care of yourself. I
deceive myself by thinking I’m gaining time. My productivity actually decreases
when I don’t do the things I know benefit my overall wellness like eating
right, exercise, and social interaction.
Worship.
Earlier today in my writing group, we talked about how all of life is worship
if we allow it to be. Keeping an attitude of worship makes the
ordinary and mundane moments glorious.
When
I think of worship during the ordinary, I think of Brother Lawrence. The account
of how this seventeenth century monk lived in adoration of God all the while
working in a kitchen touches me deeply. Entitled, The Practice of the Presence
of God, it includes Brother Lawrence’s prayer, “Lord of all pots and pans and
things…Make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates!”
If
you haven’t read this Christian classic of conversations with Brother Lawrence,
you may read it free on line or down load to kindle here. It’s only around fifty pages, so you could
read it less than an hour. But I think the ideal would be to read one
conversation and allow some time to meditate on it every day.
Whether
sifting grain moths, or weasel words, God calls us to himself. And I for one
aim to borrow a prayer from Brother Lawrence during the rest of my editing:
“O
my God, since thou art with me, and I must now, in obedience to they commands,
apply my mind to these outward things, I beseech thee to grant me the grace to
continue in thy presence; and to this end do thou prosper me with thy
assistance, receive all my works, and posses all my affections.”
Amen.
“And
whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:23).