Bane or Benediction?

Friday morning we went to the back field to do some fence repair and re-hang a gate. A soft rain was falling and our drought parched fields soaked up the water as soon as it hit the ground. Like most farm tasks, it took longer than expected. The multiflora rose had run wild and had to be cut back. Somewhere there was poison ivy mixed in. Since I was wearing short sleeves I now have those pesky bumps on my arms. It was hard work, stretching wire, putting in posts, cutting back the thorny roses but it was a sweet work, too. We were together, Michael and I. When we were finished, there was a gate where we needed, a fence repaired and we were soaked with the gentle rain mixed with our sweat.
Saturday morning we went to eat breakfast at Poppy’s, a local hangout for locals, before we went to buy fencing supplies. By noon we were working on Junie B.’s fence in back of our house, once again putting in posts with the help of friends. It was interesting work. I learned how to drive our neighbor’s tractor so we could have two tractors working. One tractor was drilling holes for the posts and I drove the tractor that pushed the posts down into the ground. At the end of the day all the wooden posts were in. We had discovered how thin the layer of dirt is on the back side of our hill after we bent four metal posts trying to get them in the ground... something to think about as we headed down the hill for supper at mama’s. She cooked a meal like I remember as a child. We had pork roast, potato salad, squash from the freezer, greasy beans we had canned, sweet potatoes, spoon bread, peas and brownies. We sat around the table, talking and laughing and groaning with our tired muscles creaking when we got up for seconds.
Sunday morning we left early for church. The youth group leaders (Michael is one) had a quick meeting before worship. Choir practice at ten was fun as usual. I made my stream of consciousness announcement about the church retreat with Eli’s help. The children’s choir sang and I leaked tears as I watched and heard those young un’s sing. After worship on our way home Megan called to let Matthew talk to us. It was Children’s Sabbath at their church and Miss Maria, their Children’s Minister, had called out the names of all the children in church. He was so excited to hear his name called from the pulpit. The children’s sermon became the adult’s sermon done by a child. He felt so important and included in church yesterday. Sunday evening we dropped by a friend’s party before dropping Michael off at youth group. I went to the hospital to visit a friend before going home to watch Andy Griffith on T.V. with mama.
It was a weekend full of bane and benediction... poison ivy, multiflora rose and a gate well hung... solid wooden posts deep in good dirt and bent metal posts six inches on top of rock... hard sweaty work in sweet rain... not enough done and just the right amount done... work alone and work together... good food and good friends and good farm... sore muscles and ibuprofen... not enough time and farm time... cussin’ and laughing... a good end to the week.
My son Adam does not remember any of the sermons our pastor preached as he was growing up but he does remember the benediction. Every Sunday Steve repeated the same words, gave us the same blessing as we left for life outside the church building, and those words are branded into our souls. I offer this benediction to you, adapted from William Sloane Coffin by Steve Shoemaker, as my prayer for the coming week.
May God give us grace not to sell ourselves short, grace to risk something big for something good, grace to remember that the world is now too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love. So may God take our minds and think through them. May God take our lips and speak through them. May God take our hearts and set them on fire.