Labor of love
Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:10)
This Tuesday, July 19th, my mother will turn 86 years young. That’s no small event. While I frequently say that every day is a gift, everything I can do for her, every activity we can perform together, and every act I can enjoy with my mom are doubly special.
On Cinco de Mayo, my mother and brother bought the house next door to me. After years of considering the purchase of a vacation home, the opportunity to buy this adjacent property was too compelling. We both now live just 30-minutes from the beach – our happy place. I can watch over their house, tend their yard, and orchestrate repairs as needed while they reside in their primary Colorado home.
When they’re here, as they are now, we enjoy being neighbors – frequently dining together, watching the sunset over the trees behind our houses, or just hanging out. It’s the shared simple everyday occurrences that are so special. When I found a little box turtle visiting my front porch, I was excited to carry it next door, so the three of us could delight in the unexpected visit. We named the little tree frog that sings near my mom’s back porch each evening “Beauregard,” and we look forward to hearing him serenade us with his beautiful night music.
I’ve been busy between their home purchase, the trip back to Colorado, and their subsequent summer visit. As I told them upon their return, “You bought a house. I’m giving you a home.”
Over the two months that they’ve been gone, I dug up, edged, planted, weeded, and mulched seven new flower beds. I planted three trees, raked rocks out of the existing back beds, added landscape fabric and plants, then returned the stones. In two 18-by-20-foot beds, I raked pebbles, weeded, added landscape fabric, and returned the pebbles to clean up the area. I then treated the front and back yards with weed-killer, cut, edged, and weed-eated the yard weekly.
I treated rusted porch furniture in their backyard to a fresh coat of paint and restored a patio set I bought second-hand. The formerly faded-white chairs and table are now refreshed with turquoise-blue paint, cushions, and flamingo pillows resting beneath a green patio umbrella – all of which add to the beach theme.
After weeding the patio’s stone slabs, I leveled the surface and added fresh concrete to join the sections together. Doing so will alleviate future weed growth permanently.
Inside, I moved bedroom suites, decorated rooms with coastal-themed curtains and quilts, provided wall art, and added every bit of flair I could think of to turn the house into a beach home. The pantry is stocked with dry goods. The refrigerator and freezer are filled with perishables and frozen items.
During the past 8-week interval, I fell and cracked a rib. As painful as it was to rake rocks, push a lawn mower, and dig plants, I felt compelled to do so. While my mom and brother told me to “take it easy” during their absence, I spent every evening and weekend covered with sweat and dirt in my efforts to complete all these projects. I never told them what I was doing as I wanted it to be a surprise. When they asked if I was “resting,” I told them I was “working my rib muscles to enhance the healing process.”
When they finally arrived, the resulting “reveal” brought me as much joy as it did to my mother and brother. My work was hard, yes, but it yielded many benefits. The toil was great, but it produced outstanding results. The exertion was profound, but I knew it would be appreciated. This project – which I presented as my mom’s birthday gift – was an immense labor of love.
Each of us is given an average of about 29,200 days in our lifetime. How many of those days do we spend doing things for others versus ourselves? More importantly, how many days do we consciously strive to live for Christ?
Psalm 139:16 tells us, “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
God gave us His Son so that we could spend eternity with Him in heaven. What are we doing to thank Him for HIs glorious gift? Do we live to satisfy ourselves or bring praise and glory to His kingdom?
I feel privileged to be able to give something back to my mom for all the things she’s done for me in my lifetime.
How much more do I long to give back to my heavenly Father for the grace and forgiveness He so freely gave me? As 1 Chronicles 29:14 reminds me, “Everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your hand.”
My greatest desire is to live my life in a way that pleases my Savior, sharing His love with others in any way that I can. I could give all I own and never outgive my Creator. I am surrounded by His love, upheld by His provision, and sanctified by His grace. I will spend every day I have left on earth serving Him in any way possible.
I can only pray that my labor of love will bring glory to my Savior. Every day is a gift. May we use whatever we’ve been given for Christ’s purpose alone.