Corona virus landscape

I've been using more brawn than brain lately. This is the view out our den door leading to the back yard.  We've had this paving project on the back burner for a couple of years, until we had the time and energy to get it done.  Well, at least we have the time!  We're going to have to retire from the rock-moving business, but, being a great lover of jigsaw puzzles, I really enjoy arranging these pavers into a pleasing pattern.  We have a new gas grill to complete the look and increase our cooking options as it gets hot.

What is so satisfying about turning off my brain and getting completely filthy?  Yesterday, I went to the farm for a beauty parlor session with my sweet mare.  The teen volunteers have helped her shed her winter coat, a spring ritual I normally enjoy.  And they're riding her some on the trails, which I appreciate.  She gets upset when the other horses go out without her.  When I came home, Stephen and I worked on the landscaping project.  Then, while he started supper, I pulled weeds in the front yard.

It used to frustrate my proper mother no end that I preferred horses and dirt to social events.  Maybe it's the subversive element that appeals to me.  But, I think the reality is that it's just who I am.  I would not get so much pleasure from yard work and horse chores if it was just rebellion against expectations.

I love the thought of the Creator fashioning each of us with great care and attention, choosing a special array of interests and strengths to impart to each new human. The epistles of Paul are littered with references to One body/Many parts.  As I reflect on my beloved church community, I can see with clarity and gratitude how we come together to function as the body of Christ.  Several are gifted with hospitality, and coordinate our celebrations and pot lucks.  Some are passionate about outreach and serving the needy.  Thus, we have feeding ministries, a school supply drive, and an angel tree at Christmas.  We have gifted teachers, singers with lovely voices (plus one excellent cellist!), and, of course, wonderful cooks.  And we have the simply reliable, those behind-the-scenes angels who can be counted on to show up for reverent holy work caring for the altar, the building, and the grounds (one of my venues!).  My gratitude is sparked each time I'm reminded that I'm not suited for many of the tasks of the church, but we've been blessed with others who are. Trying to engage with a ministry that doesn't fit is a recipe for burn-out and resentment.

Saint Paul put it very well in 1 Corinthians 12:

Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.  If the foot would say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.  And if the ear would say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.  If all were a single member, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many members, yet one body.  The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."

Do you have a firm grasp of your gifts?  If you're unsure, I suggest that you reflect on those activities that bring you great joy.  What engages you to the point you lose track of time?  I like to dig in the dirt.  What is your passion?  The world needs it, whatever it is.