Behold the days come

Ah, the morning chores are completed – laundry washed and on the solar dryer [clothesline], prep for our evening meal finished, chickens are tended [all 200 of them], perpetually sandy floor is swept yet again, a little garden work done . . .  I feel tired just listing it all and it’s barely 9 o’clock.  My days start early in Sierra Leone so I can take advantage of the relatively quiet early morning hours for my devotional reading and prayer time; a private tryst with my dear Lord.

But before I begin what I consider to be   my real work – today it will be painting watercolor illustrations for a new evangelism book – I want to record some feeble thoughts from my time with the Lord; thoughts which I’ve been turning over in my mind since our early rendezvous.  And they seem all the more poignant with the new year upon us.

I’m not feeling well right now, just usual dry season complaints, but it drains my energy and aggravates my existing health problems.  Needing more rest during the hot hours, I then begin to feel like I’m not accomplishing enough.  It’s a heavy physical task just to keep up with all of the supporting work – meals, laundry, cleaning, chickens, garden – all necessary to be sure, but what about the real work?  Isn’t that necessary too? I then get weighed down by feelings of inadequacy which, when coupled with physical illness and weakness, add up to frustration and discouragement.

Then, from my reading this morning came this thought: I Samuel 2:31 Behold, the days come…

Just that small phrase.  I’ve meditated on it all morning.  The urgency of time, it’s been like a little needle poking me.  Yes, Lord, the days come, there is no stopping them; the clock ticks, I change the calendar page, the years advance … the days come.

Am I ready?  Have I done the necessary work?  Do I even know what work is truly necessary?  As the new year comes it’s time to examine priorities, motives, and perspectives.  Yes, I have a big load of physical work to manage and fulfill each day but that frees Stephen to accomplish his work.  And, yes, I have a big load of what I consider real work which greatly enhances and compliments Stephen’s work.  But today, the Lord has shown me that it’s all necessary and has greatly encouraged me to accomplish it with joy and gladness as unto Him.