Rush Limbaugh's list of 35 undeniable truths begins with this: "There is a distinct singular American culture - rugged individualism and self-reliance - which made America great." Rugged individualism works some of the time...we all have to own our work and live strongly what we are called to, but the old saying, "Many hands make light work." holds true as well. In order for me to live a more restful life, which is not a the same as a lazy life, I must be part of a team of people, both at home and at work, who share the load. Isolation is a ticket for exhaustion and depression! I saw the value of like-minded, thoughtful help very clearly over this past Thanksgiving weekend.
On our lot there are about 10 huge oak trees loaded with beautiful leaves. In the fall all of these leaves come tumbling down and our house is covered with leave a foot deep that need raked, bagged, and carried to the curb. In the back yard it is more difficult because the bags need carried over the top of a pretty steep hill. This year we had quite a bit of help! Sarah's dad was helped us in the morning and our friends the Crichlow's came over later in the day to finish the job. With all of us working we were able to clear the entire back yard of leaves in just over 8 hours...a 3 day job for me reduced to 1 because of the help of friends!
In addition to our own children, we hosted 7 friends/family members, 3 of whom stayed overnight. Other families host more, for sure, but to us this was a real test of our teamwork...in the last week we cooked a ton, did a bunch of dishes, cleaned/re-cleaned the kitchen/bathroom multiple times, set/cleared the kitchen table over and over again, did a little bit of shopping, and put up the Christmas decorations. We were even able to get to the gym and go on a date because other people chipped in to help! Sarah and I worked together to share the load and, at the end of the holiday weekend, we are tired but content...at least I am!
The church we are members of has a more formal manner of worship than our kids generally can manage themselves through. The 90 minute service includes all family members over the age of 5 and, after a couple years of really struggling, we decided about 5 months ago to take a a break from attending worship there. This past Saturday night a family we hosted for Thanksgiving called us and invited us to sit with them at church druing the service, offering to help manage the kids so that we could worship as a family in our home-church. At first my thoughts of public humiliation caused me to gulp pretty hard, but we decided to take them up on it and made out way out the door for worship the next morning. The children did well at first, but after about 15 minutes Annabel was getting antsy. Just as she was beginning to unwind and become disruptive another family swooped in a bit late with their 7 year old daughter in tow. They offered to have Annabel sit with them, giving her the extra steam she needed to push on through the entire service. It was the best behaved my children have been at church ever, and it has to do with the help we recieved from others.
About Me
- Doug
- I'm in my mid-thirties...what I've been told are the "middle school years of life"...married and have 4 children, all of whom have been born in the 21st century. I've been married since 1998 and am constantly blown away by the life Sarah and I lead together! I'm an Army veteran, college graduate (DUKES!) and work in the public schools as an assistant principal. I grew up going to church, but didn't really make the connection between church and God until I was 19. Since then I've walked, run, tripped, fallen (with many scraped knees, elbows, forehead, etc.) with God, learning to be real and holy...I would have thought that by now I'd be farther along the path! I've spent most of my life in Virginia, but I love my roots in California and Arizona. I spent a year in Texas and miss the wide open spaces and confident spirits I met there! Currently we live in Charlottesville.
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