9×12 oil
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“It’s a dirty job, but someone has got to do it.”
There is a lot of truth in that statement. Mike Rowe has proved that! I’m sure you can think of some dirty jobs you have had to do — like parenting, cleaning up after others, caring for your own house and family, packing to move! (don’t get me started.) Even if your vocation doesn’t involve dirt, there are times we all have to get our own hands dirty to get the job done.
We were at Bedford Greenhouses this past Wednesday, a place known for beautiful blooms and shafts of variegated green. And, there is a lot of dirt involved in a greenhouse setting! As I looked for something to paint, the yellow light at the end of the dirt alley caught my eye.
As I studied light and shadows, angles of rooflines and doors, I painted for a few hours. Several workers walked in and out of the greenhouses, carrying tools of a gardener, wearing gloves or not. As the day warmed, I noticed several wiping their faces of sweat. And I thought about the work that goes on behind the scenes to make those beautiful pots of flowers.
Isn’t that the way it is with anything that turns out beautiful, turns out finished, turns out worthwhile? A lot of hard work and sweat is behind any good project.
Think of recent successes in your life. How hard did you have to work to achieve it? Who were the people who got down to the nitty gritty of the project? Who were the ones who weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty, the ones who put the sweat equity into it? It may be hard to notice people behind the scenes. But if we take our eyes off the glamour of the moment, the fancy Facebook photos, the instant Instagram pictures, we will notice this reality of Real Life — anything worth accomplishing takes dirty, hard work, and time.
And, finally, as the flowers burst into bloom after the work is done, our lives bloom with blessings and light after a job well done!
I found my mind moving from myself to all the friends who are in the predicted path of this Hurricane. I wondered who might need to evacuate to our house that would be empty while we were away. I listened to the angry sounds of busy traffic just on the outside of the hedge behind me. I noticed the individuals who walked past on the sidewalks, with backpacks, a cup of coffee, and hungry eyes. And I prayed. I prayed, not that my house would sell, but that people would be safe, be fed, know Christ’s Peace.