Tile

July 5, 2019

I was going to write tonight about an article I read about people who had led fulfilling and successful lives until their fifties, at which time it is typical for creativity and energy to peak and begin falling off. The gist of the article was the difficulty many successful people have adjusting to life in a slower lane. I have lots of thoughts about that, but I’ve spent the entire day on my hands and knees laying tile for my friend, and what I’ve discovered is, a day of hard manual labor makes my brain fuzzy, so although this article got me to thinking, I’m not up to thinking well. 

The good news is, it looks like we’ll actually be able to finish tomorrow. We got more accomplished today than any of us thought we would. The bad news is, while I get to be done, my friend Ken still has a lot of work to do before they move in at the end of the month. Maybe I can help with some of the other stuff, too. It’s what friends do. We were able to move into our house because Ken and others tore down lath and plaster, shoveled cellulose insulation into bags, and did basic demolition weekend after weekend. Then he and my friend Harry wired the whole house. I don’t even know how many Saturdays they spent here. I could tile for two weeks straight and not even be close to what I owe him.

In the end, it’s not about trying to even the score. That would be no more than a business arrangement where one party agrees to exchange labor for labor, skill for skill. This isn’t about business; it’s about friendship. It’s the brotherhood we have experienced in Christ that goes deeper than the labor. I am thankful tonight for this friendship, and for the many other friendships that bring far more blessing to me than I could ever offer to another. Somehow, Jesus evens it all out and draws more out of each of us so no matter how much we give, the blessings come back multiplied.