In the Moment

Ecclesiastes 5:18, “Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting; to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in ALL one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of life which God has given him; for this is his reward.”

What audacity Solomon has to write about enjoying ALL you labor and toils. For me at least, I equate labor and toil with anything but enjoyment. On a good day toil might trigger a neutral feeling of necessity, but rarely is it enjoyable.

Take my yard for example. I live on 5 acres and for ten months out of the year I spend three hours a weekend maintaining it. For me the reward of having the space more than offset the three hours of misery in the heat every week. That was until this past weekend when something changed in me spiritually.

For me the yard was about how fast can I get this done? The object of yard word was to finish. Have the blessing of a lot of property yard work always seems to be a reminder of lack and not abundance. As I mow I see that this needs to be painted, that needs to be fixed. I wish I had money for an improvement… or shoot; most often wish I had money for a yard man. And so the labor of the yard not only toils on my body, but on my mind. This past weekend started just the same.

As I do yard work I have my headphones on listening to music from my iPhone, the majority of which is Christian music. As a worship song kicked off, only steps into my first task of edging the Holy Spirit said to me in my mind, “What are you in a hurry for? Slow down, enjoy what you are doing.”

To that point I never looked at it as something that could be enjoyed. Not only did I slow down, not only did I find enjoyment in it, but I did double what I would have normally done. As those deferred maintenance items came up I made notes on the same iPhone that playing my music. When I was done I categorized those items into needing money and not needing money. The ones that need money, I reminded God of in prayer. The ones that don’t… well I knocked out two of them after the yard work was done. And I will continue until they are all done.

The epiphany that I derived from this experience is this. I have to believe that everything is God’s anyway. So if God entrusted me with the property, He also entrusted me with its maintenance, and therefore I should enjoy all that entails as He did it for my good. Perhaps you never thought of doing yard work as doing the will of God, but last weekend for me I did. I found enjoyment that I had been entrusted with the responsibility. Sure it involved what seemed like gallons of sweat, and left my back aching for hours. But it was what I had to do right then and there. It was a moment to live in, and living in the moment, allowing it to be the purpose of the hour and not the obstacle of the day made it so very enjoyable.

Here’s to enjoying the toil under the sun, and enjoying the moment… whatever that moment brings.