Small/Great Blessings

August 31, 2019

Sore muscles are a good thing. They tell me I’ve expended considerable energy today, which is good for the metabolism and for the soul, without having to resort to an exercise routine. Unlike a gym workout, today’s work used the muscles I actually need to do stuff. Of course, if next week I accomplish some other physical task, it will be a different set of muscles that get the workout. Recently, I’ve had issues with my hands, especially my left hand. If I touch my thumb to my little finger, I get a shot of pain bursting through my wrist and up my arm. It’s not all that bad; just enough to tell me to back off. I think I have as much strength in that hand as ever, but the pain in that thumb makes me not want to test it out. Nevertheless, today I split and with Linda and little Nathan’s help, stacked about two cord of wood.

It’s never hard to get work out of Nathan. At eleven years old, all I have to do is suggest a job that requires driving the tractor, especially if bucket work is involved. We loaded from the pile in the side yard (remnants of the dead trees we had taken down last week), drove to the back yard, where each load was stacked at the edge of the lawn. All stacked, I hopped in the bucket while Nathan drove me back to the pile. He didn’t dump me, although at times the ride was a bit bumpy. He does like to drive fast. All done, he even put the tractor in the garage without hitting the door jambs. At the end, he was a bit richer, but so were we.

So here I sit, waiting for when it’s time to head out to Linda’s sister for their annual Labor Day corn roast. I can feel my hands, but when I reflect upon good friends who are dealing with cancer and family matters, and others who have found themselves catapulted into the uncertainty of not knowing how they’ll be able to pay their rent, I am humbled by the minuscule bumps in my road. Every time I talk with someone who is walking through their dark valley, I am made aware that life can change in a heartbeat, and am grateful for even small blessings. For so many others, my small blessings would be the cause of major rejoicing.