Cessation of a Summer

During a Bible study our Ministry group was leading last week, we discussed Luke 9. The final verse of the chapter struck me with force.

"Jesus replied, 'No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.'"

As we talked about what Jesus meant, I couldn't help but sit in silence and apply it directly to my current situation. It happens every summer; I get bogged down with responsibilities and start lagging during the dog days of summer. This summer, it was in mid-July when I hit a wall and yearned for freedom- or at least a vacation. I planned a 24 hour trip to Portland to see an old friend. It was a fun trip but not long enough so I planned a long weekend trip to Seattle.  

The weekend in Seattle was fun, maybe too much fun. I didn't want to go back to Paradise. When I returned, I looked longing on the time I had spent in Portland and Seattle. I was tired of working for this company and wished I could be somewhere else.

The most challenging thing about this summer, besides learning to continually sacrifice my desires to better serve Christ and further the ministry, has been working for the company. The company has been a constant point of frustration that adds stress and anxiety to all the workers- driving some to madness or alcohol and driving others to a breaking point where they spontaneously quit. We have had so many people come and go that we classify employees by the month they arrive. We often joke about the very few who remain from the beginning of the season (May) as being like the great-grandparent generation. June employees are old folk grandparents. July employees are the parent generation, composed entirely of replacements (only here because others quit). August and September employees (yes, we are weekly getting new employees even in Sept) are the young-lings, wide-eyed and optimistic. 

Now that the wildflowers have sprung and most of the snow is disappearing, Paradise is becoming a better place. I am staying positive and assuring myself I can make it through the season, fulfilling my responsibilities to the company and the ministry.

I intend to stay until the very end, even if most of the others employees do not. God shared with me that my actions had the ability to say something powerful to my supervisors and coworkers. All I had to do was put my head down and work hard, focusing on the task in front of me. What a statement it would be if the ministry staff are the only employees who honor their contract and stay until the end!

I had put my hand to the plow back in May. Somewhere in July and August I looked back- even while my hand was on the plow. I was unfit to help lead the ministry while my head was turned. It is now late into August and I realize how much time and energy I wasted looking behind me. Now, as I look forward, I will push forward. The plow is in my hand.

October 7, here I come!